The Legislative Yuan yesterday passed amendments to the Narcotics Hazard Prevention Act (毒品危害防制條例) allowing courts to seize illicit gains from the sale of narcotics.
People who sell or transfer narcotics of any class, or grow, sell or transfer opium poppy, cocaine or cannabis plants would have any belongings or property proved to be illicit gains from the infractions seized, one amendment says.
Authorities do not need to wait until a court ruling is passed before destroying seized narcotics that are difficult to produce or preserve, another amendment says.
Photo: CNA
The thresholds for punishments related to the possession of class C or D drugs were also lowered.
People found in possession of more than 5g of any class C drug would be subject to a jail term of up to two years or a maximum fine of NT$200,000, while those found with more than 5g of class D narcotics would face a prison term of up to one year or a fine of up to NT$100,000. Previously, people found in possession of more than 20g of class C drugs faced a prison term of up to three years, which could be commuted to a NT$300,000 fine, while those in possession of more than 20g of class D narcotics faced a jail term of up to one year or a fine of NT$100,000.
Due to the high costs often associated with making “standard samples,” either the synthesis of new drugs or importing samples from abroad, the amendments allow narcotics inspection agencies to take a small portion of new drugs seized to be used as samples.
People who force or coerce a minor or pregnant woman to use illicit drugs, or cause them to do so by any other means, could face a prison term 1.5 times longer, another amendment says.
People found to have manufactured, sold, transported or enticed others to take a mixture of narcotics of different classes would face charges governing the higher-ranked drugs, as well as a prison term 1.5 times longer than the penalty if their crime involved only one kind of drug, the amendments say.
To reduce the period in which no legal action may be taken for new narcotics, the amendments stipulate that drugs with similar chemical formulas may be reviewed immediately and classified at drug reviews held every three months by the Ministry of Justice, and the Ministry of Health and Welfare.
As not everyone who uses controlled substances develops an addiction, one amendment stipulates that such offenders may be ordered to perform community service, or undergo therapy or counseling as an alternative to rehabilitation.
SOLVED: Domestic orders have already overtaken the total sold to China last year, while the Canadian and US representative offices posted messages of support A joint effort by groups and individuals in Taiwan and abroad to prop up sales of pineapples after China announced a ban on imports of the fruit succeeded in just four days, the Council of Agriculture (COA) said yesterday. China on Friday announced that it would suspend imports of Taiwanese pineapples starting on Monday, citing biosafety concerns. Following the announcement, the council urged the public to assist farmers by purchasing pineapples, saying it hoped to sell 20,000 tonnes of the fruit domestically and 30,000 tonnes in exports. “Domestic orders have already surpassed the total sold to China last year,” COA Minister
Taiwanese netizens and politicians yesterday mocked a Chinese plan to build a transportation network linking Beijing and Taipei, calling it “science fiction” and “daydreaming.” Their comments were in reaction to the Chinese State Council’s release last week of its “Guidelines on the National Comprehensive Transportation Network Plan,” which include several proposed transportation links, with one map showing a line running from China’s Jingjinji Metropolitan Region (Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei) across the Taiwan Strait to Taipei. “This is the Chinese leadership daydreaming again of [fulfilling its] fantasy of extending China’s transportation network to Taiwan. I suggest people regard it as science fiction,” Democratic Progressive
‘UNITED FRONT’: Grooming young Taiwanese to become Internet celebrities or hosts is a Chinese tactic to spread propaganda to influence young people, a source said As part of its “united front” tactics, China has been grooming young Taiwanese to become Internet celebrities or Internet program hosts, a source said on condition of anonymity. Over the past year, about 1,000 Taiwanese living in China have participated in training programs and competitions for show hosts held in several cities, including Xiamen, Wenzhou and Hangzhou, the source said on Saturday. “Beijing is taking advantage of the openness of the Internet to spread propaganda about acceptance of China, and about ‘national security,’” the source said, adding that Taiwan’s national security officials are racing to fix the problem. Chinese infiltration of
MAIN CHALLENGE: The US naval commander warned that China would seek to ‘forcibly change’ the balance of power in the region that would likely be permanent The US encourages Taiwan to invest in defense and obtain asymmetric defense capabilities, US Navy Admiral Philip Davidson said on Thursday. Davidson, commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, made the remark in a videoconference on defense matters hosted by the American Enterprise Institute think tank. “China is positioned to achieve overmatch” in its military capability by 2026, he said. When Beijing is able to, it would “likely choose to forcibly change” the balance of power in the Indo-Pacific region, “and I would say the change in that status quo could be permanent,” he said. “China seeks a new world order, one with Chinese characteristics,