Shen Po-yang campaign faces illegal fundraising allegations

A controversy has emerged regarding alleged illegal fundraising on behalf of Shen Po-yang, a candidate for Taipei Mayor. Kuomintang (KMT) Taoyuan City Councilor Ling Tao, accompanied by other political figures, filed a complaint with the Control Yuan, alleging that supporters of Shen’s ‘Ocean Current’ (Yangliu) movement engaged in unauthorized fundraising on crowdfunding platforms, which would violate the Political Donations Act.

In response to the allegations, Shen Po-yang stated he was unaware of the fundraising activities and urged authorities to investigate and report any illegalities immediately.

The individual who initiated the fundraising has since issued a public apology. He clarified that while he had a 10-minute phone conversation with an assistant in Shen’s office to discuss video details, he never mentioned fundraising plans during the call. He admitted to misrepresenting the conversation as having received official approval from Shen’s office, which misled the public and caused unnecessary trouble for the campaign. He stated he would cooperate with judicial investigations.