He Zifan, the candidate for the mayor of Zhuqi Township, is suspected of being involved in a group trip to China to receive hospitality on arrival. He Zifan, the candidate for the mayor of Zhuqi, was summoned for search after drawing the lottery number.

Chiayi County Councilor He Zifan (second from left) moved to the Zhuqi Township mayor election and was taken away by members of the prosecutor's task force after the lottery was drawn today. (Photo taken from He Zifan’s Facebook)

Four candidates for township mayor in Chiayi County's Zhuqi Township were drawn by lot today. One of them, He Zifan, a non-party county councilor who turned to be the township mayor, was suspected of being involved in the case of a group trip to China last year and this year to accept on-arrival hospitality. After the lottery was drawn, he was searched and summoned by the prosecutors and police. The whole case was investigated by the Chiayi District Prosecutor's Office for violating the election and recall law for public officials. After the prosecutor resumed the interview at around 7 o'clock tonight, He Zifan was asked to return.

Jiajian commanded the Eighth Investigation Brigade of the Criminal Police Department, together with the Chiayi County and Chiayi City Investigation Stations and the police task force. Today, armed with search tickets, soldiers went to He Zifan's residence and other places in multiple ways to search. He, his brother, the Kuomintang rural representative candidate Wu Jinhui, and voters were summoned to the case. More than 20 people were present to explain. The prosecutor will request all of them back after rehearing.

The lottery for Zhuqi Township mayor candidates was held at 9 a.m. this morning at the Zhuqi Township Office. He Zifan was the first to go on stage to draw lots, and drew No. 3, shouting the slogan "Three Yang Kaitai". Then Chen Hongji, chairman of the Zhuqi Township People's Representative Association of the Democratic Progressive Party, drew No. 2, Qiu Fengming, the former secretary of the Zhuqi Township Office without party membership, drew No. 4, and Ye Zhihong, the mayor of Yilong Village, without party membership, drew No. 1.

Unexpectedly, this afternoon, He Zifan uploaded a searched video on Facebook. In the video, He Zifan looked at the camera, raised his hands and shouted, "Political handling of the case, I would rather die than surrender," and then left with the members of the task force, which shocked the political circles of Jiaxian County.

Former legislator Lin Guoqing also posted on Facebook, "Member He Zifan, the Zhuqi Township mayor candidate, his brother, and representative candidate Wu Jinhui were supposed to draw election numbers this morning. Shockingly, they were taken away for questioning by the relevant units. The current situation is unknown. It happened too suddenly. Supporters are worried and frightened. We hope that after the hearing, they can be released as soon as possible to continue running hard to win support for votes."

Jiajian said that the case was carried out in accordance with the established investigation progress. The task force carried out the search today with a search ticket and summoned more than 20 people including He Zifan, his brother, and voters to explain to the case. The entire case is being investigated in part involving the election and recall law, and the facts of the case need to be clarified by investigation.

He Zifan, a candidate for the mayor of Zhuqi Township in Chiayi County, uploaded a video calling for political handling of the case and would rather die than surrender. (Photo taken from He Zifan’s Facebook)