Interior ministry seeks to dissolve Chinese Unification Promotion Party

Taipei, Nov. 6 (CNA) The Ministry of the Interior (MOI) said Wednesday that it will ask the Constitutional Court to legally dissolve the Chinese Unification Promotion Party (CUPP) for "posing a threat to democracy."

Under Taiwan's Constitution, the MOI can request the dissolution of a political party "[whose] goals or activities endanger the existence of the Republic of China or the nation's free and democratic constitutional order."

The MOI claims that the New Taipei-based CUPP received funding from China to interfere in elections, disrupted public order, and infringed on people's rights to assemble.

In a statement, the ministry said the CUPP had systematically sought to develop organized pro-Beijing groups in Taiwan in the years since its founding in 2005.

As the CUPP's actions "clearly pose a threat to the constitutional order of freedom and democracy," investigations will be conducted under the Political Parties Act, and evidence will be gathered to petition the Constitutional Court to dissolve the opposition party, the ministry added.

The ministry also noted that law enforcement agencies have linked 134 CUPP members to a number of severe crimes, including murder, robbery, transnational human trafficking and gang violence.

According to the MOI, eleven CUPP members are suspected of violating the National Security Act, the Anti-Infiltration Act, the Presidential and Vice Presidential Election and Recall Act, and the Act Governing Relations between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area.

The ministry did not provide details of the alleged offenses, but it took the action after two CUPP members were indicted on Nov. 4 for allegedly receiving NT$74 million (US$2.32 million) from China to promote its political agenda in Taiwan.

The suspects are accused of using radio and digital media propaganda since 2011 to promote political parties and candidates favored by Beijing, according to the Taiwan Chiayi District Prosecutors Office.

Should the Constitutional Court approve the move, it will be the first time that a registered political party in Taiwan has been dissolved at the request of the MOI.