TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The campaign office of Hsinchu County Deputy Magistrate Chen Chien-hsien (陳見賢) has accused KMT Legislator Hsu Hsin-ying (徐欣瑩) of violating election laws, breaching party rules, and tampering with a recently released survey.
Chen’s office argued that by referencing a Formosa survey, which was conducted at the same time as the party’s official primary survey, Hsu not only broke KMT primary rules but also broke the Public Officials Election and Recall Act, per UP Media.
His office explained that while the law forbids the public from disclosing polls within 10 days of an election, KMT rules also ban candidates from discussing surveys while the primary’s official survey is in progress.
Chen’s campaign also raised concerns about the Formosa survey’s methodology. Citing information it claimed to have, Chen’s office suggested that the survey overrepresented respondents aged 20 to 29, intentionally excluding those older than 30.
Chen’s office emphasized that it would continue to fight against what it called improper interference in public opinion. It also called on the KMT to disqualify Hsu from the primary.
In response, Hsu’s campaign office accused officials from the KMT Hsinchu County Branch of breaching party rules, per China Times. Her office alleged Hsinchu County Branch officials openly supported Chen’s campaign, breaking party rules. Chen served as the branch’s chair for a long time before relinquishing the position to compete in the party primary.
Regarding the alleged election law violation, Hsu’s office stressed that the law imposes no restrictions on disclosing surveys during an ongoing primary.
Concerning the survey accusations, Hsu’s office claimed it had no knowledge of the survey’s sampling method. Hsu’s office also questioned how Chen’s office was able to obtain detailed information about a poll not commissioned by the KMT.
The KMT’s Hsinchu County primary will conclude on Friday. During the primary campaign, Hsu criticized the rules, which combine party member votes with general surveys, calling them unfair.
Recently, Chen’s campaign announced that it had uncovered fliers allegedly containing documents detailing Chen’s past involvement with criminal gangs, per Liberty Times. Chen denied any connection to organized crime, but official documents reportedly linking him to such activities circulated online.
Regarding the fliers, Chen’s campaign announced it had commissioned lawyers to pursue legal action against those responsible for circulating them.
Hsu’s campaign called on the KMT to disqualify Chen over the alleged criminal connections, but the party determined that Chen could continue his election campaign.
