TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Publishing and commenting on opinion polls will be banned from Jan. 3, or 10 days ahead of the presidential and legislative elections, the Central Election Commission (CEC) said Thursday (Nov. 2).
People who break this law will be subject to fines from NT$100,000 (US$3,090) to NT$1 million, Radio Taiwan International (RTI) reported. If the violator is a political party, a candidate, or a related employee or representative, the maximum fine could be doubled.
The CEC emphasized that the rules were not new but had been in place for previous elections. This year, the ban will come into force on the morning of Jan. 3 at 12:00 a.m.
The publication, reporting, distribution, commenting, and quoting of opinion surveys will not be allowed from Jan. 3 until the end of voting on election day, Jan. 13. Polls published before the ban need to list key details, including the name of the organization conducting the surveys, the time, method, numbers, margin of error, and source of funding, the CEC said.