A New Taipei city council candidate has been indicted for vote-buying after handing out cheap gifts to elderly voters, a setback for his campaign and a warning shot ahead of Taiwan's November local elections.

• Chang Chao-lung, a former deputy spokesman for the Taiwan People's Party in New Taipei, is now running as an independent for city council.
• Prosecutors say that over July and August he visited five community centers in Linkou, Wugu, and Taishan during senior lunch gatherings, gave a speech, and handed each voter a Hong Kong-style turnip cake branded with his campaign name.
• At some events he also gave out red envelopes holding one US dollar as quiz prizes, again printed with his name.
• Investigators raided the sites on September 10 and questioned 75 people; Chang was detained, indicted within days under election law, and a court ordered him held without visitors.
• Chang lost a 2022 council bid on the TPP ticket and switched districts and party labels for this run.

Outlook: Chang faces trial while jailed, and prosecutors are signaling they will treat even small gifts to voters as bribery as Taiwan's local election season heats up.