TAIPEI: Taiwan’s President Ma Ying-jeou has been fined T$500,000 (US$17,000) by electoral authorities for urging his Facebook followers on polling day to vote for him, the Central Election Commission said yesterday.
Taiwanese election law forbids any form of campaigning on voting day.
Elected in 2008, Ma won a comfortable re-election victory on Jan 14. He is due to be inaugurated for his second and last four-year term on Sunday.
However, his government has recently come under fire over a string of controversial policies, which saw his popularity plunge to 19.5 per cent, its lowest level in nearly three years, according to a poll released last week. — AFP