The Presidential Office, the Executive Yuan and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) plan to pass an anti-infiltration bill on Tuesday as scheduled after gauging public opinion, which favors the move, a source said yesterday.
The DPP administration hopes to pass a version of the bill on which it and opposition parties have the largest common ground following cross-caucus talks tomorrow, the source said.
Despite the four legislative caucuses on Friday managing to discuss only two of the bill’s 12 articles, without reaching a consensus, an Executive Yuan official, who requested anonymity, applauded the lawmakers’ decision to commence a clause-by-clause review.
A DPP official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that the DPP caucus’ version of the bill would certainly undergo minor adjustments, particularly to the definition of “infiltration sources” and Article 2, which currently includes groups, organizations and agencies “supervised by” the government, affiliated organizations or any intermediary of an external hostile force.
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) assigns officials to larger Chinese companies, some of which hire Taiwanese, but that does not mean these Taiwanese will collude with the CCP to infiltrate Taiwan, the official said, adding that changes would allay the concerns of Taiwanese working in Chinese firms.
However, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus’ proposal that the Executive Yuan regularly publish a list of sources of infiltration — purportedly to enable better enforcement of the legislation — would create problems and the Cabinet would not accept it, the official said.
Separately yesterday, two pro-localization campaigners called for the bill to be pushed through to bolster national security.
Taiwan Friends Association chairman Huang Kun-hu (黃崑虎) said China has infiltrated Taiwan’s elections and society through various means, and that Taiwanese democracy must be protected if national security is to be safeguarded.
Now is an opportune time for the DPP to push the bill, as the issue of Chinese infiltration has been brought to the forefront by the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong, he said.
Lawmakers must pass the bill, which would provide a legal basis to curb Chinese infiltration, he added.
Threats from the pan-blue camp to stage demonstrations against passing the bill cannot be justified, as opposing the legislation would be opposing efforts to uphold national security, Huang said, adding that he believed a majority of the public supports the legislation.
However, given the short time the DPP has to pass the bill, it should communicate extensively with the public about the urgency and importance of the legislation, he said.
Senior adviser to the president Yao Chia-wen (姚嘉文), a former lawyer, said that the pan-blue camp’s criticism of the bill has been hyperbolic and unfounded, as it only targets accepting political donations, campaigning, lobbying and disrupting peaceful rallies at the instruction or with the funding of an infiltration source.
The DPP caucus did not suddenly propose the bill, as it had already discussed legislation to crack down on Chinese infiltration and CCP proxies, Yao said.
“What is the KMT afraid of?” he asked.
Regarding criticism from former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) that the bill is “most absurd and reminiscent of the Martial Law era,” Yao said that was a distortion of the facts and that Ma — who holds a doctorate in law from Harvard University — has wasted his legal expertise.
NEXT GENERATION: The four plants in the Central Taiwan Science Park, designated Fab 25, would consist of four 1.4-nanometer wafer manufacturing plants, TSMC said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) plans to begin construction of four new plants later this year, with the aim to officially launch production of 2-nanometer semiconductor wafers by late 2028, Central Taiwan Science Park Bureau director-general Hsu Maw-shin (許茂新) said. Hsu made the announcement at an event on Friday evening celebrating the Central Taiwan Science Park’s 22nd anniversary. The second phase of the park’s expansion would commence with the initial construction of water detention ponds and other structures aimed at soil and water conservation, Hsu said. TSMC has officially leased the land, with the Central Taiwan Science Park having handed over the
The Philippines is working behind the scenes to enhance its defensive cooperation with Taiwan, the Washington Post said in a report published on Monday. “It would be hiding from the obvious to say that Taiwan’s security will not affect us,” Philippine Secretary of National Defense Gilbert Teodoro Jr told the paper in an interview on Thursday last week. Although there has been no formal change to the Philippines’ diplomatic stance on recognizing Taiwan, Manila is increasingly concerned about Chinese encroachment in the South China Sea, the report said. The number of Chinese vessels in the seas around the Philippines, as well as Chinese
URBAN COMBAT: FIM-92 Stinger shoulder-fired missiles from the US made a rare public appearance during early-morning drills simulating an invasion of the Taipei MRT The ongoing Han Kuang military exercises entered their sixth day yesterday, simulating repelling enemy landings in Penghu County, setting up fortifications in Tainan, laying mines in waters in Kaohsiung and conducting urban combat drills in Taipei. At 5am in Penghu — part of the exercise’s first combat zone — participating units responded to a simulated rapid enemy landing on beaches, combining infantry as well as armored personnel. First Combat Zone Commander Chen Chun-yuan (陳俊源) led the combined armed troops utilizing a variety of weapons systems. Wang Keng-sheng (王鏗勝), the commander in charge of the Penghu Defense Command’s mechanized battalion, said he would give
AUKUS: The Australian Ambassador to the US said his country is working with the Pentagon and he is confident that submarine issues will be resolved Australian Ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd on Friday said that if Taiwan were to fall to China’s occupation, it would unleash China’s military capacities and capabilities more broadly. He also said his country is working with the Pentagon on the US Department of Defense’s review of the AUKUS submarine project and is confident that all issues raised will be resolved. Rudd, who served as Australian prime minister from 2007 to 2010 and for three months in 2013, made the remarks at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado and stressed the longstanding US-Australia alliance and his close relationship with the US Undersecretary
RSS