Taiwan detains a Communist Party leader over alleged Chinese sponsorship in election

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Authorities in Taiwan detained the leader of the island's Taiwan People’s Communist Party , accusing him of running as a candidate for borough chief under the direction and sponsorship of China’s Communist Party, local media reported Sunday.

Taiwan is set to hold elections for mayors and local area chiefs on November 28. While the races focus more on livelihood issues, the results could be a good indicator of the popularity of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party under the leadership of Taiwan President Lai Ching-te ahead of the presidential election in 2028.

According to Taiwan's Central News Agency, prosecutors said in a statement Sunday that an initial investigation showed Taiwan People’s Communist Party chair Lin Te-wang also had directed another party member to run as a candidate for chief in another borough.

Prosecutors also alleged that Lin sought to buy votes by repeatedly recruiting voters to travel to mainland China, where they received hospitality, the report said.

While Lin’s party is not influential on the democratic island, it was not his first legal trouble over his alleged links with China. He and another party leader had faced charges of Chinese infiltration and attempting to influence elections but were found not guilty in 2025, the Taipei Times reported.

Taiwan’s Central News Agency said the prosecutors had received intelligence about foreign interference in the election and summoned 14 people and nine witnesses. After questioning, the government lawyers strongly suspected that Lin and the other party member had committed a crime and were concerned the pair could flee or destroy evidence, so they filed applications to the local courts to detain them and bar them from being visited by others, it said.

The courts ruled in the prosecutors' favor for Lin but released the other member on a 50,000-Taiwan-dollar ($1,525) bail, the news agency said. The other people summoned were released during the investigation, it added.

China's Taiwan Affairs Office has not immediately commented.

Beijing views Taiwan as a breakaway province to be retaken by force if necessary, and claims of China's meddling are common in Taiwanese elections.

China and Taiwan have been governed separately since 1949 when the Chinese Communist Party rose to power in Beijing following a civil war. Defeated Nationalist Party forces fled to Taiwan, which later transitioned from martial law to multiparty democracy.

Leung reported from Hong Kong.