Taiwan jails Chinese woman for election infiltration

A Taiwan court sentenced Chinese woman Xu Chunying to seven years in jail on Tuesday after finding her guilty of taking instructions from Chinese Communist Party officials to campaign for candidates in Taiwanese elections.

New Taipei District Court documents show Xu was found guilty of offences under Taiwan's Anti-Infiltration Act. She was also convicted of crimes linked to fraud, currency exchange and helping a Chinese person enter Taiwan without disclosing the true nature of his work and the purpose of the trip.

The court said Xu and another person identified only by the surname Chung took orders from Chinese Communist Party officials to campaign for two Taiwan People's Party candidates: Huang Shan-shan in the 2022 Taipei mayoral election and Ko Wen-je in the 2024 presidential election. Both candidates lost, and neither has been accused of wrongdoing in the case.

Xu came to Taiwan in 1998 and worked in the island's migrant community. She was an influential member of the community of Chinese women married to Taiwanese men, known as “Chinese spouses.”

Taiwan People's Party spokeswoman Chang Tung said the party's contact with Xu was limited to immigrant affairs. Chang said the party's policies were based on the interests of people in Taiwan and were not influenced by external forces, adding that Xu “never participated in the party's decision-making.”

China claims democratic Taiwan as part of its territory and has threatened to seize it by force. Taipei accuses Beijing of using espionage and infiltration to weaken its defences.