Taipei: The deputy head of Taiwan’s Chinese Unification Promotion Party (CUPP) has received a suspended sentence and fine after being found guilty of helping buy signatures to get business tycoon Terry Gou onto Taiwan’s 2024 presidential election ballot.

According to Focus Taiwan, the Taipei District Court sentenced CUPP Deputy Chairman Lee Tsung-kuei to two years in prison and fined him NT$6 million, both suspended for five years, for violations of the Presidential and Vice Presidential Election and Recall Act. Lee was also ordered to pay NT$3 million (US$92,353) into state coffers and was banned from seeking or holding public office for four years. The court’s ruling is subject to appeal.

The indictment revealed that Chen Chung-ming, a hot spring tycoon in Taipei’s Beitou District, approached Lee in October 2023 to assist in procuring signatures for Gou, founder of Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. The signatures were needed to meet the endorsement requirements for Gou’s candidacy in the January 13, 2024 presidential election.

Lee allocated NT$1.5 million for the signature buying initiative and instructed seven associates to purchase signatures from the public for NT$300 each. The group successfully collected over 1,000 signatures in support of Gou’s candidacy, as argued by prosecutors.

During the trial, Lee, 74, confessed to the charges, as did his seven accomplices, who also received suspended sentences. Chen Chung-ming faced a separate trial, resulting in a suspended prison sentence and a NT$2 million fine last year.