The Cabinet is poised to approve a draft bill this week that seeks to bar individuals convicted of involvement in organized crime, money laundering, drug-related offenses, and illegal possession of guns or knives from running for public office, an official close to the matter said on Tuesday.
Premier Su Tseng-chang (???) recently announced that the Cabinet would introduce a draft amendment to the Civil Servants Election and Recall Act to ban convicted gang members, those who have been found guilty of money laundering or drug-related offenses from running for public office, so as to meet public expectations of probity among public officials.
The issue of alleged gangsters running in the Nov. 26 local elections and winning, while also exerting covert influence over Taiwan’s political scene, has been widely discussed since Legislator Mark Ho (???) of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) speaking in late November attributed the loss of DPP Taipei mayoral candidate Chen Shih-chung (???) to certain “gangsters” in the DPP leadership.
According to the Cabinet’s proposed amendment, people who have been convicted based on the provisions of the Organized Crime Prevention Act, Money Laundering Control Act, the Controlling Guns, Ammunition and Knives Act, and the Narcotics Hazard Prevention Act, will be barred from running for public office, said the official, who asked not to be named.
In addition to the aforementioned crimes, the version sponsored by the Cabinet would also ban individuals convicted of offenses against the external or internal security of the state as defined under the National Security Act, the Classified National Security Information Protection Act, and the National Intelligence Services Act.
The Cabinet’s version differs from a draft amendment sponsored by DPP Legislator Lo Chih-cheng (???) in that it would also exclude people convicted of contravening the Narcotics Hazard Prevention Act as a result of using narcotics, the source added.
The Cabinet’s proposed amendments also seek to prohibit anyone who has committed a felony and been sentenced to a prison term of 10 years or more from running for public office, regardless of whether the verdict can be appealed, according to the source.
Under the proposals, individuals who have been found guilty of taking bribes or buying votes during elections or primaries would also be barred from registering as candidates to prevent them from becoming elected officials.
Statistics released by the Taiwan Anti-corruption and Whistleblower Protection Association in August found that of the 885 incumbent city and county councilors nationwide prior to the recent local elections, 136, or 15 percent, had criminal records.
By political party, the Kuomintang (KMT) has the highest number of councilors with a criminal record with 65, followed by independent councilors with 35, and the DPP with 26.
By administrative region, Kaohsiung has most councilors with a criminal record at 18, followed by New Taipei with 12 and Changhua County with 11.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel