TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The New Taipei District Prosecutors Office on Tuesday charged 31 individuals, including KMT New Taipei City Branch Secretary-General Chen Chen-jung (陳貞容), for allegedly forging recall petition signatures targeting DPP lawmakers.
Prosecutors said a total of 2,566 petition entries were falsified in recall efforts against legislators Su Chiao-hui (蘇巧慧), Chang Hung-lu (張宏陸), and Lee Kuen-cheng (李坤城). The breakdown includes 829 forms for Su, 781 for Chang, and 956 for Lee, per CNA.
Those charged include local KMT officials, party volunteers, and members of the KMT Youth League. The case stems from the party’s campaign earlier this year to recall several DPP lawmakers, launched in response to a DPP-initiated effort to recall 41 KMT legislators.
According to prosecutors, the KMT aimed to submit the first batch of petitions before legal amendments took effect on Feb. 20. The revised election law now requires petitioners to include photocopies of their national ID cards, raising the procedural bar for recall applications.
Between Jan. 22 and 24, Chen allegedly instructed campaign coordinators to complete the required paperwork by Feb. 2. As the deadline fell during the Lunar New Year holiday, prosecutors said the team struggled to gather enough valid signatures.
To meet the deadline, Chen and others allegedly copied personal information—including names, birthdates, ID numbers, and household addresses—from the KMT’s membership database and filled out petition forms manually. These were then submitted with forged signatures, prosecutors said.
Some individuals who assisted with the effort were reportedly paid NT$1,000 (US$34) in cash.
The 31 defendants face charges under the Personal Data Protection Act and for document forgery. Prosecutors called the case a serious infringement of constitutional rights, citing the organized nature of the alleged scheme.
Chen is accused of playing a leading role. Although she initially denied involvement, prosecutors said she later admitted to overseeing the recall drive against Su under instructions from KMT headquarters and acknowledged distributing payments to participants.
However, she denied directing or participating in forgery efforts related to Chang and did not provide a full account of the events. Prosecutors said her lack of cooperation should be considered in sentencing.
Other defendants, including regional party secretaries Chu Pei-yi (朱蓓儀) and Lin Chien-yi (林建鎰), Banqiao branch head Chiu Hung-pin (邱鴻彬), and recall initiator Wu Yu-chen (吳昱蓁), also denied the charges. Prosecutors said some showed no remorse and attempted to shift responsibility, and have recommended harsher penalties for these individuals.
