The Anti-infiltration Act (反滲透法) is to take effect today, the Presidential Office said yesterday on its Web site.
The 12-article law, passed by the Legislative Yuan on Dec. 31, prohibits people acting on the instructions of or with the funding of “infiltration sources” from illegal campaigning or lobbying, or receiving illegal political donations, as well as disrupting social order, peaceful assemblies, elections or referendums.
While the activities are already defined as illegal in the Criminal Code, the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法), the Presidential and Vice Presidential Election and Recall Act (總統副總統選舉罷免法) and the Civil Servants Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法), the Anti-infiltration Act stipulates the punishments are applicable to people who break those laws on the instructions or with the financial support of infiltration sources, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said.
Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times
The Anti-infiltration Act applies only to people “who intentionally break the law, and not to those who are unaware of the situation,” the council added.
It stipulates that people who are influenced by infiltration sources and conduct illegal lobbying would be fined between NT$500,000 and NT$5 million (US$16,699 and US$166,990).
If the lobbying concerns national security issues, such as national defense, diplomacy and cross-strait affairs, the punishment would be a maximum of three years in prison or a fine of up to NT$5 million.
The Anti-infiltration Act states that for people who are influenced by infiltration sources and contravene articles 149 to 153 of the Criminal Code by disrupting social order, or Article 31 of the Assembly and Parade Act by disrupting peaceful assemblies and parades, the sentence would be increased by half of what is stipulated in the Criminal Code and the Assembly and Parade Act.
People who are influenced by infiltration sources to participate in illegal campaign activities, thus contravening the Presidential and Vice Presidential Election and Recall Act or the Civil Servants Election and Recall Act, would be sentenced to a maximum of five years in prison, or fined up to NT$10 million.
The Anti-infiltration Act states that people under the influence of infiltration sources who disrupt elections, recalls or referendums and contravene either of the two election and recall acts, would face a sentence increased by half of what is stipulated in the two acts.
A life sentence or a minimum of 15 years in prison would be given to those under the influence of infiltration sources who disrupt public gatherings such as an election or petition rally.
The Anti-infiltration Act aims to fend off infiltration, rather than curb all cross-border exchanges, the council said, adding that it would not restrict regular exchanges across the Taiwan Strait.
Rainfall is expected to become more widespread and persistent across central and southern Taiwan over the next few days, with the effects of the weather patterns becoming most prominent between last night and tomorrow, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Independent meteorologist Daniel Wu (吳德榮) said that based on the latest forecast models of the combination of a low-pressure system and southwesterly winds, rainfall and flooding are expected to continue in central and southern Taiwan from today to Sunday. The CWA also warned of flash floods, thunder and lightning, and strong gusts in these areas, as well as landslides and fallen
WAITING GAME: The US has so far only offered a ‘best rate tariff,’ which officials assume is about 15 percent, the same as Japan, a person familiar with the matter said Taiwan and the US have completed “technical consultations” regarding tariffs and a finalized rate is expected to be released soon, Executive Yuan spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) told a news conference yesterday, as a 90-day pause on US President Donald Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs is set to expire today. The two countries have reached a “certain degree of consensus” on issues such as tariffs, nontariff trade barriers, trade facilitation, supply chain resilience and economic security, Lee said. They also discussed opportunities for cooperation, investment and procurement, she said. A joint statement is still being negotiated and would be released once the US government has made
SOUTH CHINA SEA? The Philippine president spoke of adding more classrooms and power plants, while skipping tensions with China over disputed areas Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr yesterday blasted “useless and crumbling” flood control projects in a state of the nation address that focused on domestic issues after a months-long feud with his vice president. Addressing a joint session of congress after days of rain that left at least 31 dead, Marcos repeated his recent warning that the nation faced a climate change-driven “new normal,” while pledging to investigate publicly funded projects that had failed. “Let’s not pretend, the people know that these projects can breed corruption. Kickbacks ... for the boys,” he said, citing houses that were “swept away” by the floods. “Someone has
‘CRUDE’: The potential countermeasure is in response to South Africa renaming Taiwan’s representative offices and the insistence that it move out of Pretoria Taiwan is considering banning exports of semiconductors to South Africa after the latter unilaterally downgraded and changed the names of Taiwan’s two representative offices, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday. On Monday last week, the South African Department of International Relations and Cooperation unilaterally released a statement saying that, as of April 1, the Taipei Liaison Offices in Pretoria and Cape Town had been renamed the “Taipei Commercial Office in Johannesburg” and the “Taipei Commercial Office in Cape Town.” Citing UN General Assembly Resolution 2758, it said that South Africa “recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the sole
RSS