Supreme Court upholds ex-legislative candidate's Anti-Infiltration Act conviction

Taipei, July 23 (CNA) The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a two-year, eight-month prison sentence for former independent legislative candidate Ma Chih-wei (馬治薇) for accepting funding from China during her 2024 election campaign.

The ruling is final. The court said prosecutors had been notified to take measures to prevent Ma from leaving the country.

Prosecutors said Ma received about NT$1.05 million (US$32,510) in cash and cryptocurrency from two China-based contacts known as "Bing-jie" (冰姐) and "A-hao" (阿浩).

The money was used to fund her campaign for a legislative seat in Taoyuan in the January 2024 elections, prosecutors said.

In return, Ma provided the pair with business cards belonging to national security personnel and a directory of liaison officers between the central government and the Legislative Yuan, according to prosecutors.

They said she supplied the information to maintain the contacts' trust and secure further financial support.

Ma was indicted for alleged violations of the Anti-Infiltration Act, the Personal Data Protection Act and the National Security Act.

The Taoyuan District Court initially found her guilty only of illegally collecting and using personal data, sentencing her to eight months in prison.

It ruled that prosecutors had failed to prove the two contacts represented a hostile foreign force or an organization acting on its behalf.

The Taiwan High Court overturned part of the lower court ruling on appeal, finding Ma guilty of accepting election funding from an organization effectively controlled by China and of illegally collecting and using personal data.

It sentenced her to two years and eight months in prison.

The High Court described Ma as a "local collaborator" who helped a hostile foreign force interfere in Taiwan's elections.

Ma appealed, but the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal Thursday.