Hualien Xiulin Township Chief and his wife were accused of misappropriating local reward money to bribe elections. Eight locations were investigated and raided

Wang Meigui (right) and Hu Zhimin (left), the mayors of Xiulin Township in Hualien County, will run for county councilor and township chief respectively at the end of the year on behalf of the Kuomintang. They are accused of misappropriating local places to reward Jin Yanke for election bribery. (File photo)

Wang and her husband run for election as next council members and township chiefs

Wang Meigui and Hu Zhimin, the mayors of Xiulin Township in Hualien County, will run for county council and township mayor respectively at the end of the year on behalf of the Kuomintang. They were recently accused of misappropriating local resources to reward Jin Yanke for electoral bribery. The Hualien District Prosecutor's Office yesterday directed the Hualien County Investigation Station of the Ministry of Justice's Investigation Bureau, the Criminal Police Brigade of the County Police Department and other units to conduct searches at the couple's residence and office at eight locations. The investigators also simultaneously interviewed secretary Zhang, the person in charge of the public welfare society surnamed Xu, and others to explain that the whole case is still under investigation and clarification.

Accused of misappropriating local space to reward Jin Yanke for election bribery

It is understood that this case is suspected to involve the township office allocating local feedback funds from cement plants within its jurisdiction to public welfare organizations in the name of public welfare. The person in charge surnamed Xu then used the money to assist the candidate surnamed Hu in organizing meals and banquets for voters. The preliminary investigation and investigation determined that it may involve criminal law charges of election bribery and embezzlement of public welfare properties.

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In addition, prosecutors have learned about the financial flows related to some candidates, and they are suspected of buying votes at prices ranging from thousands of yuan per vote. The detailed amount and specific criminal facts still need to be clarified by the investigation.

Wang Meigui's two terms as township head expire at the end of the year. Her husband Hu Zhimin is a retired policeman and has never participated in politics. He wants to inherit his wife's political assets in the name of "continuing construction and protecting Xiulin."

Wang Meigui was also prosecuted in the past for corruption cases in 2023. The relevant judicial proceedings have not yet been concluded. Now she is under investigation for suspected election bribery, which has attracted great attention from the local government.

Xiulin Township has Taipower, Heping Power Plant, Asia Cement, Taiwan Cement and mining areas. All units have long allocated rebates to township offices, affected villages, etc. in accordance with relevant regulations. Including the county ore landscape tax and other rebates, the total is about more than 100 million yuan. Huge rebates are often the focus of competition among all walks of life. The public welfare association involved this time, Little Sun Academy, has been assisting nearly 200 tribal children with after-school tutoring for more than ten years. In the past, its lack of financial transparency has also caused controversy. The association emphasizes that "the clean ones will clean themselves up."

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