Legislative amendments that aim to counter China’s attempts to annex Taiwan and protect the nation’s democracy “must be passed” in this legislative session, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) said yesterday.
The amendments call for changes to the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), the Criminal Code and the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (台灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), as well as for cross-party meetings on measures to protect the nation’s democracy.
Aside from making stipulations regarding potential peace agreements with China, the amendments also call for stripping the pensions of retired military officers who engage in “inappropriate speech or behavior” while visiting China.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
They also call for travel restrictions of up to six years for retirees privy to national secrets, redefining “foreign aggressors” in the Criminal Code to include Chinese, and amending the Classified National Security Information Protection Act to prohibit the leaking of business and development secrets to China, other foreign governments or terrorist organizations.
Proposed amendments to the national security act and the Criminal Code are undergoing discussions led by Legislative Speaker Su Jia-chyuan (蘇嘉全), but proposed amendments to the cross-strait act had been postponed for more than one year, Ker said.
As the DPP last year prioritized pension reforms, but then met setbacks after the local elections in November, the proposed amendments to the cross-strait act had been put on the back burner, he said.
However, they were revived, along with a draft act to curb the spread of false news reports, following a Cabinet reshuffle in January, he said.
“These things always had to be taken care of, but doing so became particularly urgent following the nine-in-one elections. These amendments need to be passed before there is another change of premier,” Ker said.
The current legislative session is to end on May 31.
It was crucial to amend the cross-strait act to add Article 5-3, which would require lawmakers’ approval for a proposed peace agreement with China, and would also require a national referendum, he said.
This would make the threshold for a peace agreement higher than that required by a constitutional amendment, Ker added.
Such amendments are needed to protect Taiwan’s sovereignty in the event the DPP loses next year’s presidential and legislative elections, he said.
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) will likely try to disrupt the amendments’ passage, but they must be passed regardless, Ker said.
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