Taipei: Eleven individuals affiliated with the Kuomintang (KMT), Taiwan's primary opposition party, were indicted in Tainan for allegedly forging names on recall vote petitions directed at two Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers, as reported by the Tainan District Prosecutors Office.

According to Focus Taiwan, the accused, including Chuang Chan-kuei, the deputy head of the KMT's Tainan branch, attempted to gather 3,000 petition signatures each for DPP lawmakers Lin Chun-hsien and Wang Ting-yu within a 10-day window in January. However, they allegedly resorted to fabricating significant portions of the lists.

Prosecutors revealed that 3,613 false entries were discovered across both petitions, including 130 from deceased individuals, in an effort to trigger recall votes as per the Public Officials Election and Recall Act. The individuals involved were charged with forgery offenses under Articles 210 and 216 of Taiwan's Criminal Code and for the illegal use of personal information under Article 41 of the Personal Data Protection Act.

The forged names were purportedly copied from KMT party membership rosters accessed through government computers or printed lists, then transcribed by party officials, staff, and their acquaintances before submission to the Central Election Commission (CEC).

Among the suspects, branch director Lin and branch director-general Huang allegedly offered payments of NT$2-3 per entry to helpers, resulting in several hundred forged entries, as alleged by prosecutors.

Nine high-level KMT members from the Tainan branch, identified by surnames Hung, Liu, Shih, Wang, and Chen, were indicted along with lead petitioner Hu and another individual also surnamed Lin. Authorities conducted searches at KMT offices on March 20, detaining both Chuang and Liu the following day. Liu confessed and was released, while Chuang remains in custody awaiting trial.

In addition to the 11 indicted, another 37 individuals who played lesser roles in the suspected illegal operation were granted deferred prosecution after admitting their involvement. Conditions included legal education and fines ranging from NT$10,000 to NT$100,000.

The Tainan investigation is one of several judicial actions underway across Taiwan concerning alleged recall vote campaign irregularities, with KMT members and associated activists accused of forging signatures in Taipei, New Taipei, Keelung, Taichung, Kaohsiung, and other locations.