Full Implementation of the Supreme Prosecutors Office’s Nationwide Local Elections Investigation Strategy

In response to the upcoming 2026 local public official elections, the Chiayi District Prosecutors Office (CYDPO) has officially activated its "Task Force for Investigating Offenses Impeding Elections" to launch comprehensive anti-bribe-buying operations.

To boost the operational capacity of frontline judicial police, Chief Prosecutor Tsai Tzung-Shi personally led a team today (May 26) to the Budai Division of the Chiayi County Police Bureau. He shared legal analyses of anti-bribery regulations and practical investigative techniques with grassroots officers to fully enhance frontline capabilities. This move closely echoes the central directive of the Supreme Prosecutors Office's "Supervisory Group for Investigating Offenses Impeding Elections," which was jointly inaugurated yesterday (May 25) by Minister of Justice Cheng Ming-chien and Acting Prosecutor General Hsu Hsi-hsiang, demonstrating a powerful determination to crack down on electoral crimes through local initiatives backed by central coordinated defense.

Frontline Mentorship and Core Practical Techniques

During this frontline guidance visit, Chief Prosecutor Tsai gathered the police division chief, criminal investigation captain, and core police station investigators to engage in in-depth discussions on four core topics:

• Early-stage intelligence planting

• Targeting high-risk individuals

• Real-time intelligence sharing

• Cross-agency joint defense lines

Chief Prosecutor Tsai also passed down three major practical skills to ensure precise evidence collection and comprehensive preparedness:

1. Analysis of New Criminal Patterns: Dissecting evolving methods used to influence elections.

2. Mastery of Statutory Elements and Latest Judicial Precedents: Aligning investigations with current court interpretations.

3. Key Essentials for Seizure and Interrogation: Enhancing the tactical execution of searches, evidence gathering, and interviews.

Countering Four Core Electoral Challenges

The CYDPO emphasized that it will strictly adhere to the "2026 Local Public Official Elections Investigation Work Guidelines" issued by the Ministry of Justice. Integrating the Supreme Prosecutors Office's approach of "early deployment, mid-term review, and final-stage implementation," the office will construct a tight cross-agency joint defense network to fully counter four core challenges facing the year-end elections:

1. Strictly Investigating Bribery and Violent Interference: Formulating precise enforcement priorities based on local vote-buying characteristics. In addition to pursuing criminal liability, prosecutors will simultaneously file lawsuits to declare elections invalid.

2. Dismantling Illegal Election Gambling Pools: Effectively combining traditional intelligence with technology-assisted investigation methods to aggressively trace sources upstream and track down funding origins.

3. Blocking AI Deepfakes and Disinformation: Precisely utilizing the newly amended Public Officials Election and Recall Act and Criminal Code tools to establish real-time identification and disruption mechanisms, stopping the spread of fake news at the source.

4. Preventing Foreign Interference and Infiltration: Conducting deep analyses of personnel, financial, and information flows to accurately distinguish legitimate exchanges from illegal foreign interference.

A Call to Action for the Public

The CYDPO urges candidates not to test the law and calls upon the public to stand up and jointly safeguard a clean electoral atmosphere and democratic achievements.

If citizens discover any clues regarding suspected election interference, please call the toll-free hotline: 0800-024099 (press 4 after connecting). Judicial authorities will maintain the highest standard of confidentiality regarding informants' identities and will award substantial bounties:

• Foreign Interference Cases: Up to NT$20 million

• Vote-Buying/Bribery Cases: Up to NT$10 million

• Election Gambling Pools: Up to NT$5 million