Three bills designed to strengthen national security have been listed by the Executive Yuan as priority bills for the next legislative session, which is scheduled to begin later this month.
Sources with knowledge of the matter, who requested anonymity, said that the priority bills include an amendment to the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例) to increase penalties for Chinese nationals, organizations or institutions that invest in Taiwan under the guise of a foreign investor from another nation.
Article 73 of the act bars any person on entity in China, or any company it invests in any third area, from any investment activity in Taiwan, unless permitted by the authorities.
Those who contravene the law are liable for a fine ranging from NT$120,000 to NT$600,000 (US$3,899 to US$19,496).
The proposed amendment would raise the maximum fine to NT$25 million.
The second priority bill, another amendment to the same act, would bar retired generals, directors of intelligence agencies, and ministers and deputy ministers of agencies with access to sensitive security information from attending political activities hosted by senior Chinese officials, paying tribute to the flag or political symbols of China, or behaving in ways that damage Taiwan’s dignity, for 15 years after their retirement.
Those who contravene the restriction would risk losing part of or their entire pension.
The bill was shelved during the previous legislative session as Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers struggled to pass a pension reform bill for retired military personnel.
The Executive Yuan would work to ensure that it clears the legislative floor in the new legislative session, the sources said.
The third priority bill contains proposed amendments to the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法) that would increase the number of years that retired military brass are banned from traveling to China from one to three years to three to six years.
The bill passed its first reading in March.
Premier William Lai (賴清德) is scheduled to have a lunch meeting with DPP lawmakers on Friday to discuss the Cabinet’s priority bills with the party’s caucus.
Some DPP lawmakers have proposed other draft amendments to strengthen national security.
One, submitted by Legislator Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) and others, would amend Article 5-2 of the National Security Act (國家安全法) so that retired officials could be stripped of their pensions if they are convicted of espionage.
They would also be required to return any pension funds they received during the time the espionage was committed.
However, the Executive Yuan is still soliciting the opinions of national security agencies before it makes a decision on whether to earmark that proposed amendment as one of its priority bills, the sources said.
FREEDOM OF NAVIGATION: The UK would continue to reinforce ties with Taiwan ‘in a wide range of areas’ as a part of a ‘strong unofficial relationship,’ a paper said The UK plans to conduct more freedom of navigation operations in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea, British Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs David Lammy told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. British Member of Parliament Desmond Swayne said that the Royal Navy’s HMS Spey had passed through the Taiwan Strait “in pursuit of vital international freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.” Swayne asked Lammy whether he agreed that it was “proper and lawful” to do so, and if the UK would continue to carry out similar operations. Lammy replied “yes” to both questions. The
SECOND SPEECH: All political parties should work together to defend democracy, protect Taiwan and resist the CCP, despite their differences, the president said President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday discussed how pro-Taiwan and pro-Republic of China (ROC) groups can agree to maintain solidarity on the issue of protecting Taiwan and resisting the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The talk, delivered last night at Taoyuan’s Hakka Youth Association, was the second in a series of 10 that Lai is scheduled to give across Taiwan. Citing Taiwanese democracy pioneer Chiang Wei-shui’s (蔣渭水) slogan that solidarity brings strength, Lai said it was a call for political parties to find consensus amid disagreements on behalf of bettering the nation. All political parties should work together to defend democracy, protect Taiwan and resist
By refusing to agree spending increases to appease US President Donald Trump, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez threatened to derail a summit that NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte needs to run smoothly for the sake of the military alliance’s future survival. Ahead of yesterday’s gathering in The Hague, Netherlands, things were going off the rails. European officials have expressed irritation at the spoiler role that Sanchez is playing when their No. 1 task is to line up behind a pledge to raise defense spending to 5 percent of GDP. Rutte needed to keep Spain in line while preventing others such as Slovakia
SHIFT PRIORITIES: The US should first help Taiwan respond to actions China is already taking, instead of focusing too heavily on deterring a large-scale invasion, an expert said US Air Force leaders on Thursday voiced concerns about the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) missile capabilities and its development of a “kill web,” and said that the US Department of Defense’s budget request for next year prioritizes bolstering defenses in the Indo-Pacific region due to the increasing threat posed by China. US experts said that a full-scale Chinese invasion of Taiwan is risky and unlikely, with Beijing more likely to pursue coercive tactics such as political warfare or blockades to achieve its goals. Senior air force and US Space Force leaders, including US Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink and
RSS