Hoping to crack down on the increasingly prevalent practice of people using hidden cameras to invade the privacy of others, three legislators held a public hearing yesterday to discuss what should be included in new regulations to bar such activity.
There have been a growing number of complaints about photographs and video tapes published in the media or found on the Internet that were taken by hidden cameras in public restrooms, hotel rooms and the bedrooms of private homes.
Three PFP legislators -- Lee Yung-ping (李永萍), Pang Chien-kuo (龐建國) and Chen Chin-hsing(陳進興) -- sponsored yesterday's hearing. Representatives from the National Police Administration, the Ministry of Justice, the Judicial Yuan, the Modern Women's Foundation and the Taipei Rapid Transit Corporation attended.
"There is only Article 315 of the Criminal Code regulating personal privacy, and the punishment is light. Seeking a new regulation is the first step in our anti-taping campaign," Lee said.
Article 315 -- which prohibits the taping of private dialogue and conduct without the consent of the individual being taped -- was passed by the Legislative Yuan in 1999. It mandates a prison term of five years or a NT$50,000 fine for circulating such illegally taped material.
The numerous reports of such abuses reflect the seriousness of the problem, according to Judicial Yuan and Ministry of Justice officials, even though there have been no lawsuits filed yet under Article 315.
"It's very tough for us to find the evidence [to prosecute] secret taping and hidden cameras," said Wang Pei-ling (
Wang Ru-shiuan (王如玄), a representative of the Modern Women's Foundation, said the Legislative Yuan should draw up an anti-secret-taping law to regulate the use of hidden cameras and to force owners of public spaces -- such as hotels and shopping malls -- to bear responsibility for any illegal taping that occurs on their premises.
Other representatives attending yesterday's hearing all supported Wang's idea.
Minister of the Interior Yu Cheng-hsien (余政憲) on Monday promised a meeting of the Legislative Yuan's Home and Nation's Committee to submit an amendment to the Architecture Law to the legislature within three months.
The proposed amendment would stipulate that stores, malls and other such public buildings that were found to have hidden cameras on their premises would lose their operating licenses.
Considering that most countries issue more than five denominations of banknotes, the central bank has decided to redesign all five denominations, the bank said as it prepares for the first major overhaul of the banknotes in more than 24 years. Central bank Governor Yang Chin-lung (楊金龍) is expected to report to the Legislative Yuan today on the bank’s operations and the redesign’s progress. The bank in a report sent to the legislature ahead of today’s meeting said it had commissioned a survey on the public’s preferences. Survey results showed that NT$100 and NT$1,000 banknotes are the most commonly used, while NT$200 and NT$2,000
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday reported the first case of a new COVID-19 subvariant — BA.3.2 — in a 10-year-old Singaporean girl who had a fever upon arrival in Taiwan and tested positive for the disease. The girl left Taiwan on March 20 and the case did not have a direct impact on the local community, it said. The WHO added the BA.3.2 strain to its list of Variants Under Monitoring in December last year, but this was the first imported case of the COVID-19 variant in Taiwan, CDC Deputy Director-General Lin Ming-cheng (林明誠) said. The girl arrived in Taiwan on
ANNUAL EVENT: Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in Daan Park, with an event zone operating from 10am to 6pm This year’s Taipei Floral Picnic is to be held at Daan Park today and tomorrow, featuring an exclusive Pokemon Go event, a themed food market, a coffee rave picnic area and stage performances, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said yesterday. Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in the park as attractions, with an exclusive event zone operating from 10am to 6pm, it said. Participants who complete designated tasks on-site would have a chance to receive limited-edition souvenirs, it added. People could also try the newly launched game Pokemon Pokopia in the trial area, the department said. Three PokeStops are
South Korea is planning to revise its controversial electronic arrival card, a step Taiwanese officials said prompted them to hold off on planned retaliatory measures, a South Korean media report said yesterday. A Yonhap News Agency report said that the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs is planning to remove the “previous departure place” and “next destination” fields from its e-arrival card system. The plan, reached after interagency consultations, is under review and aims to simplify entry procedures and align the electronic form with the paper version, a South Korean ministry official said. The fields — which appeared only on the electronic form
RSS