TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Chair of the Taiwan People’s Communist Party (TPCP), Lin Te-wang (???), has been indicted for political infiltration and receiving financial support from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
Taipei district prosecutors office filed charges against Lin and Cheng Chien-hsin (???) under the Anti-Infiltration Act and the Public Officials Election and Recall Act. They also face charges for smuggling, UDN reported.
It is alleged that Lin nominated his party’s vice chair, Cheng, to run for Taipei City councilor in 2022 under the instruction of the CCP. He is also accused of directing his associate, Yu Sheng-hung (???), to illegally import over 4,700 doses of Chinese antigen test kits.
Prosecutors allege he intended to distribute the tests to voters and influence Taiwan’s local elections. Lin, Cheng, and Yu were charged with offenses under the Medical Device Management Act.
The indictment document states that since 2017, Lin, in his capacity as the party chair, had frequent exchanges with the Taiwan Affairs Office and the United Front Work Department (UFWD) of the CCP’s Central Committee. It added he maintained contact with Hu Chungguang (???), Deputy Director of the UFWD of the CCP’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) for over a decade.
The UFWD is the CCP’s agency for coordinating overseas influence and propaganda operations. The CCP says that UFWD work in Taiwan involves:”Implementing the CCP’s Central Committee’s work on Taiwan, adhering to the ‘one-China principle,’ and uniting Taiwan compatriots at home and abroad.”
Lin also arranged trips to Taiwan for officials from Yunnan Province, China. He received financial support for these arrangements of NT$945,160 (US$29,150), the indictment says.
In July 2016, Lin assumed the role of chief consultant for Shandong Political Report Company and the Taiwan Center of Political Report Media Network. It is alleged he reported regularly to the CCP on its united front work in Taiwan.
The prosecution alleges that in 2018, Lin received instructions from Zhang Chaode (???), director of the TAO in Yunnan, to run as a candidate for the TPCP in the Tainan City council election.
Following further CCP instructions, in 2022 he nominated Cheng Chien-hsin to run for Taipei City councilor. He transferred NT$90,000 to Cheng’s account through friends and family and instructed him to use it for campaigning.
It is alleged that Yu Sheng-hung enlisted 47 party members and their relatives to smuggle COVID-19 antigen test kits from Xiamen. Prosecutors said Yu acted under Lin’s instructions.
Lin, Cheng, and Yu planned to distribute these kits to eligible voters to assist Cheng’s election campaign. In the end, their activities were detected by Taiwan’s Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau (MJIB).
In 2022, the investigators conducted searches and interrogated Lin, campaign officials, and suspected bribe-takers. Lin, Cheng, and Yu have denied the allegations.
Prosecutors concluded that Lin and Cheng were influenced and financially supported by hostile foreign forces. Investigators said were attempting to infiltrate Taiwan’s legislature.
Lin and Cheng were charged with jeopardizing Taiwan’s sovereignty and democratic constitutional order. Prosecutors therefore requested the court to impose heavier sentences in accordance with the law.
In response to the indictment, China’s TAO Spokesperson, Zhu Fenglian (???) said “the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)’s crackdown on individuals advocating for peaceful reunification across the Taiwan Strait was malicious and intended to create a ‘green terror,’ exacerbating cross-strait tensions while seeking unfair election advantages.”
Zhu’s accusation of “green terror” is commonly leveled against the DPP by Taiwan’s opposition Kuomintang (KMT) party. The phrase relates to the KMT’s claim that the DPP silences political opposition.
Taiwan’s two main political parties are often described by the color of their party flags. The KMT is referred to as the blue party, and the DPP is the green party.
The phrase “green terror” comes from the phrase “white terror.” White Terror refers to the mass persecution and oppression that took place during Taiwan’s period of martial law between 1948 and 1992.
