Cash for Votes? 2 Journalists Put Taiwan’s Election Practices Under Scrutiny

Two foreign journalists have gone public to describe alleged “vote-buying” practices they say they encountered in different parts of Taiwan, bringing concerns over election integrity ahead of the self-ruling island’s Nov. 28 local elections.

Kathrin Hille, a former Taiwan correspondent for the Financial Times, told Taiwan’s FTV News that vote-buying remained widespread in rural Hualien, where she currently lives. Days later, American journalist Courtney Donovan Smith said he had personally witnessed a local Kuomintang (KMT) politician in Changhua preparing a large amount of cash that he was told was intended to buy votes.

Hualien prosecutors have since opened an investigation into Hille’s allegations, while local politicians have called on the two reporters to provide evidence to substantiate the claims.

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Widespread ‘vote-buying’

During her FTV interview, Hille made a sweeping allegation about elections in Hualien. “I now live in rural Hualien, and all the votes there are bought.” Hille said that during elections, neighbors would tell her “who had come by,” place cash on the table, and discuss “how much a vote costs this year.”

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She argued that the practice should receive greater scrutiny despite Taiwan’s decades-long democratic transition. “I think this is also something that needs to be addressed. Taiwan has been democratized for how many years now?” The claims quickly generated controversy and chatter across social media.

On Aug. 30, Smith added his own account on social media, saying that years earlier, while working for a politician affiliated with a local KMT faction in Changhua County, he saw the politician preparing “a huge pile of cash.” Smith recalled jokingly asking: “Is all this for me?” The politician, according to Smith, responded: “Of course it’s for buying votes.”

Prosecutors launch probe

The Hualien District Prosecutors Office said it had opened a case based on media reports of Hille’s claims and was investigating. Prosecutors said they were actively pursuing election bribery cases and urged candidates not to violate election laws, stressing that maintaining fair elections requires public cooperation and urged anyone with information related to the allegations to come forward.

The claims also drew strong pushback from politicians in Hualien. KMT legislative caucus whip Fu Kun-chi, who represents the county, said accusations should be based on evidence rather than generalized to an entire community.

Fu argued that if Hille had personally encountered situations involving neighbors placing suspected vote-buying money on a table, she should have immediately reported them to investigators. He called for the matter to be handled by judicial authorities rather than through political debate and urged Hille to submit any evidence she possesses to prosecutors and police.

Meanwhile, Hualien mayor and KMT county magistrate candidate Wei Chia-yen also challenged Hille to provide specific evidence, warning that otherwise her allegation unfairly damages the reputations of elected officials. Likewise, Independent county magistrate candidates Chang Chun and Wei Chia-hsien called for concrete evidence and a formal investigation into the claims.

A history of election bribery cases

Hualien also has a documented history of election bribery cases. In 2012, Taiwan’s Public Television Service reported that five KMT-nominated candidates had received final vote-buying convictions stemming from local elections in Hualien, including the 2009 Guangfu Township chief by-election and elections in Zhuoxi and Wanrong townships.

The Hualien County Election Commission subsequently invoked party-liability provisions under Taiwan’s election law and imposed a combined NT$4.55 million in penalties on the KMT.

During the 2018 local elections, the Hualien District Prosecutors Office reportedly received 163 election-related cases before voting day, including a case in which payments reached NT$10,000 per vote. Chang Yu-meng, chairman of the Taiwan Youth Association for Democracy, also cited figures previously released by Hualien prosecutors showing that, of roughly NT$500 million historically awarded nationwide for reporting election bribery, approximately NT$50 million (one-tenth of the total) was paid in Hualien.