Former MAC Deputy Minister Charged Under Anti-Infiltration Act

TaiwanPlus News

District prosecutors are accusing former deputy minister of Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council Chang Hsien-yao of working on behalf of the Chinese government to interfere in last year's presidential election. Chang has denied the allegations.

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00:00District prosecutors are accusing former Deputy Minister of the Mainland Affairs Council Zhang

00:04Xianyao of working on behalf of the Chinese government to interfere in last year's presidential

00:09election.

00:11Prosecutors allege that he tried to boost momentum for Terry Guo's presidential campaign

00:14on instruction from China.

00:16Guo is the founder and former chairman of Taiwanese company Foxconn, one of the world's

00:20largest electronics manufacturers, and ran for president as an independent in the lead-up

00:25to last year's presidential election.

00:27He ultimately withdrew from the race after he failed to broker a deal to unite the two

00:31opposition parties, the TPP and KMT.

00:34Guo has been known to have close personal and business ties to China.

00:38Many of Foxconn's factories are in China, and President Xi Jinping has addressed him

00:42as an old friend.

00:43They allege Zhang published fake polls that found Guo and Ke could beat Ho in the election,

00:48and say his actions broke Taiwan's anti-infiltration law, among others.

00:52When asked if they had any comment, the Mainland Affairs Council said this.

00:57What we know is that when they were investigating the case of Xu Shaodong of Sanyuan Group,

01:07they also found Zhang Jianyao.

01:12But because this case has gone to court, we don't have more information to provide.

01:20Zhang has denied the allegations, but it's not the first time he's been accused of working

01:24with China.

01:25In 2014, he was accused of leaking secrets to China while working at the Mainland Affairs

01:29Council, but prosecutors later closed the case, saying there was not enough evidence

01:33to indict him.

01:35The case comes as Taiwanese officials have been accused of spying for China, and as Taiwan

01:39has accused China of meddling in its 2024 presidential election, and more broadly, launching

01:44disinformation campaigns within Taiwan.

01:47Justin Wu and Keynes Caranta for Taiwan Plus.

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