Jaw Shau-kong indicted over public display of stamped recall ballot

Taipei, Nov. 6 (CNA) Media personality and politician Jaw Shau-kong (趙少康) was indicted Thursday on charges related to his display of a marked ballot during a recall vote in July.

According to the indictment by the Taipei District Prosecutors Office, Jaw had already marked his ballot at a polling station in Taipei's Daan District when he decided to show it to the media, during an election on July 26 that sought to recall various opposition Kuomintang lawmakers and one city mayor.

Jaw, a former KMT lawmaker and government minister, was warned by a polling station worker not to show his marked ballot, but he went ahead and displayed it briefly so it could be photographed by the media, before dropping it into the ballot box, prosecutors said.

The public display of a marked ballot is a violation of Taiwan's election laws and carries a maximum penalty of two years in prison or a fine of NT$200,000 (US$6,466), prosecutors said, citing Articles 88 and 105 of the Public Officials Election and Recall Act.

Jaw's actions at the polling station were immediately reported to the police, and on Sept. 23, he was summoned by prosecutors for questioning.

He later apologized and told reporters that he had displayed his ballot merely to show that he had voted but not to display his vote. He said the case was a needless hassle and a waste of judicial resources.

Prosecutors said, however, that as a prominent media figure and politician with extensive election experience, Jaw should have known the rules, but he deliberately displayed his marked ballot and later sought to downplay his actions.

Following his indictment on Thursday, Jaw said he has always respected the judiciary and had answered all the prosecutors' questions.

He said that he had hoped that prosecutors would not pursue the case or, in the worst-case scenario, offer him deferred prosecution.

However, everything should be done in accordance with the law, he said, expressing remorse and promising to be more careful in the future.

Jaw, a former chairman of Taiwan's Broadcasting Corporation of China, served as a KMT lawmaker and as environmental minister from the late 1980s to the early 1990s. Over the years, he has remained a prominent voice in Taiwan's media and politics, and he ran unsuccessfully on the KMT ticket for vice president in 2024.