TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Chiayi District Prosecutors Office on Tuesday indicted Kuomintang Chiayi City chapter Secretary-General Chang Chia-ming (張嘉銘) and 10 others in connection with alleged forged recall petition documents targeting Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Wang Mei-hui (王美惠).
According to prosecutors, Chang and the other defendants were involved in a recall petition drive against Wang, per CNA. Prosecutors said the case concerns about 1,900 petition forms suspected of being forged.
Prosecutors said Chang allegedly produced petition documents during a chapter meeting on Jan. 24, 2025, using the personal seal of petition leader Chen (陳) and party membership information. Prosecutors said Chen later submitted the petitions without knowledge of the alleged forgeries.
The prosecutors’ office said complaints were filed by people whose personal information was used without consent, as well as by relatives of deceased party members whose identities appeared on the petitions. After reviewing the evidence, prosecutors said handwriting analysis showed that about 1,900 petition forms shared writing characteristics with those of the defendants.
Prosecutors said Chang and 10 other chapter personnel, including officials ranging from a deputy chair to a driver, were indicted. Two volunteers surnamed Liu (劉) and Hsu (徐) were granted deferred prosecution. Chen was not indicted after prosecutors found no evidence he participated in the alleged forgeries.
Prosecutors said several of the defendants held official positions within the Chiayi City chapter and had access to party membership information, per UDN. They added that the alleged conduct infringed on the rights of individuals whose data was used without consent and undermined public trust, per Liberty Times.
In a separate case, members of the KMT’s Chiayi County chapter were convicted in December 2025 over forged recall petition documents targeting DPP Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷). Prosecutors said defendants in that case admitted copying information from party membership lists to fabricate petition signatures.
