Taiwan's courts have finalized prison sentences for two men who took borough chiefs and relatives on a free China trip to sway the 2024 elections — a warning shot for anyone taking Beijing's hospitality ahead of a vote.

• A New Taipei borough chief, Yao Wei-hua, will serve two and a half years; association head Chien An-shih gets four years and eight months.
• The trip was funded and directed by Nanjing's Taiwan Affairs Office, with guests paying only their airfare while food, lodging and transport were free.
• At a banquet, Chinese officials sat mixed among the Taiwanese guests under a "both sides are one family" banner and pushed voters to back the KMT-TPP ticket and reject the DPP.
• A lower court had acquitted both men for lack of evidence, but the High Court reversed it and the Supreme Court has now upheld that.
• Yao reportedly told his guests the meal was "on Xi Jinping" — a line prosecutors used to show the trip was a paid-for favor.

Outlook: Both men are set to report to prison shortly, and the ruling gives prosecutors a clear template for pursuing similar China-funded election trips.