Taipei: The Taiwan High Court has sentenced former independent legislative candidate Ma Chih-wei to two years and eight months in prison for violating the Anti-Infiltration Act, ordering her to return her illegal gains.
According to Focus Taiwan, the court found that Ma violated Article 4 of the act, which prohibits individuals from promoting or opposing election positions when instructed, commissioned, or funded by infiltration sources. The court highlighted Ma’s awareness of China’s hostile stance towards Taiwan and its attempts to disrupt the island’s political and social stability.
Despite this knowledge, Ma accepted monetary inducements from individuals linked to a Chinese foundation. By exchanging information for funds from an organization under Beijing’s control, Ma was deemed a “local collaborator,” aiding a foreign power in influencing Taiwan’s elections. The ruling is subject to appeal.
In March 2024, the Taoyuan District Prosecutors Office charged Ma with accepting approximately US$34,322 in U.S. dollars and digital currency from two friends in China. It was alleged that she provided national security personnel contact information and a register of liaisons between the central government and the Legislative Yuan during her unsuccessful legislative bid in January 2024.
Previously, the Taoyuan District Court sentenced Ma to eight months for violating the Personal Data Protection Act but did not find her actions in breach of the Anti-Infiltration Act and National Security Act. The court reasoned that the information was not from confidential documents, and there was no evidence linking her Chinese associates to infiltration entities. The High Court’s ruling followed an appeal from prosecutors.
Ma contested the January 2024 legislative election as an independent against Niu Hsu-ting of the Kuomintang and Cheng Yun-Peng of the Democratic Progressive Party, securing 20,600 votes, or 8.56 percent of the total.
