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.
CALL FOR SUPPORT: President William Lai called on lawmakers across party lines to ensure the livelihood of Taiwanese and that national security is protected President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday called for bipartisan support for Taiwan’s investment in self-defense capabilities at the christening and launch of two coast guard vessels at CSBC Corp, Taiwan’s (台灣國際造船) shipyard in Kaohsiung. The Taipei (台北) is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels, and the Siraya (西拉雅) is the Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) first-ever ocean patrol vessel, the government said. The Taipei is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels with a displacement of about 4,000 tonnes, Lai said. This ship class was ordered as a result of former president Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) 2018
UKRAINE, NVIDIA: The US leader said the subject of Russia’s war had come up ‘very strongly,’ while Jenson Huang was hoping that the conversation was good Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and US President Donald Trump had differing takes following their meeting in Busan, South Korea, yesterday. Xi said that the two sides should complete follow-up work as soon as possible to deliver tangible results that would provide “peace of mind” to China, the US and the rest of the world, while Trump hailed the “great success” of the talks. The two discussed trade, including a deal to reduce tariffs slapped on China for its role in the fentanyl trade, as well as cooperation in ending the war in Ukraine, among other issues, but they did not mention
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi yesterday lavished US President Donald Trump with praise and vows of a “golden age” of ties on his visit to Tokyo, before inking a deal with Washington aimed at securing critical minerals. Takaichi — Japan’s first female prime minister — pulled out all the stops for Trump in her opening test on the international stage and even announced that she would nominate him for a Nobel Peace Prize, the White House said. Trump has become increasingly focused on the Nobel since his return to power in January and claims to have ended several conflicts around the world,
GLOBAL PROJECT: Underseas cables ‘are the nervous system of democratic connectivity,’ which is under stress, Member of the European Parliament Rihards Kols said The government yesterday launched an initiative to promote global cooperation on improved security of undersea cables, following reported disruptions of such cables near Taiwan and around the world. The Management Initiative on International Undersea Cables aims to “bring together stakeholders, align standards, promote best practices and turn shared concerns into beneficial cooperation,” Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said at a seminar in Taipei. The project would be known as “RISK,” an acronym for risk mitigation, information sharing, systemic reform and knowledge building, he said at the seminar, titled “Taiwan-Europe Subsea Cable Security Cooperation Forum.” Taiwan sits at a vital junction on
RSS