TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Ministry of Justice’s Investigation Bureau (MJIB) detained an independent candidate running for the Legislative Yuan in Taoyuan, it was reported on Friday (Jan. 5).
Ma Chih-wei (馬治薇), who was formerly the spokesperson for the Taoyuan office of the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), was first questioned by investigators on Dec. 19, reported UDN. The MJIB said that Ma is under investigation for running at the behest of the Chinese Communist Party and accepting campaign funds from China.
Following the MJIB’s initial investigation, it was determined that Ma was a flight risk and likely to destroy evidence about her future court case. The Taoyuan Prosecutor’s Office granted the MJIB’s request to detain Ma, per UDN.
Ma reportedly became the target of an extensive investigation under Article 4 of the Anti-Infiltration Act, after authorities discovered she received over 1 million yuan (US$140,000) in digital currency from a source in China through money transfering apps like Tether, reportd UDN.
Ma reportedly made a trip to China in 2023 with the current chairman of the TPP’s Taoyuan Office Huang Cheng-chun (黃成峻), where they both allegedly met with CCP contacts. Both Huang and Ma were interrogated on Dec. 19, but Huang has not yet been charged with any crime.
Huang said that he accompanied Ma during the interrogation as a witness to corroborate her activities while in China, per UDN.