The Legislative Yuan has completed a preliminary review of draft amendments to the Criminal Code of the Armed Forces (陸海空軍刑法) aimed at addressing repeat drunk driving as well as the spreading of disinformation by military personnel.
The draft amendments, which were sponsored by the Executive Yuan and lawmakers across party lines and are expected to pass a third reading on Tuesday, would increase penalties for military personnel who are caught driving under the influence (DUI) of alcohol within five years of an earlier DUI conviction, bringing the punishment in line with that for civilians.
The draft amendments stipulate a prison term of five years to life for military personnel who are on parole or probation and are convicted of a second DUI, while those who severely injure others as a result of their drunk driving would face jail time of three to five years.
Personnel found driving military vehicles or those assigned to them by the government for work while under the influence of alcohol would face 1.5 times the original penalties, the draft amendments say.
The code currently stipulates that military personnel charged with a DUI face a maximum jail term of two years, while those who severely or fatally injure others as a result of driving drunk would receive prison terms of one to seven years or three to 10 years respectively.
It does not contain rules against repeat infractions.
The Cabinet has also sponsored amendments to the code aimed at clamping down on disinformation originating from the military, which are also expected to be passed into law on Tuesday.
Under existing rules, military personnel who spread rumors about the military that can be proved false face a maximum jail term of three years, detention or a fine of up to NT$300,000.
The draft amendments aim to hold those who relay such rumors accountable and would introduce the same penalties for them.
As the dissemination of misinformation is often conducted through the Internet, the Cabinet has also proposed an addendum to the code stipulating that people who spread military disinformation through radio and TV broadcasts, electronic communications or over the Internet would face 1.5 times the original penalties.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft