Although the government intends to toughen penalties for businesses and individuals leaking personal information, it might reject a proposal by key Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators which aims to dramatically increase punishment.
"The proposed seven-year sentence sounds awfully severe," said David Liu (劉佐國), a senior specialist at the Ministry of Justice's Department of Legal Affairs. "It's not only unfair to first-time offenders, it also goes against international practice."
While the ministry is aware of the DPP legislators' concerns, it may stick with its own amendments to the Computer-Processed Personal Data Protection Law (
DPP caucus whip Tsai Huang-liang (
"Heavier punishments always serve as a more effective deterrent," he said.
Tsai and two other DPP legislators, Chen Chao-lung (
The law presently protects only that personal information which is managed, processed, stored or distributed by computers, whereas the Cabinet's draft would cover all forms of personal information which could be deemed to be private and deserving of protection.
The punishment for those who leak personal information for commercial purposes would also be increased. While the current maximum sentence is a two-year jail term or a NT$40,000 fine, the draft would increase this to five years in jail or a NT$1 million fine.
Beijing could eventually see a full amphibious invasion of Taiwan as the only "prudent" way to bring about unification, the US Department of Defense said in a newly released annual report to Congress. The Pentagon's "Annual Report to Congress: Military and Security Developments Involving the People's Republic of China 2025," was in many ways similar to last year’s report but reorganized the analysis of the options China has to take over Taiwan. Generally, according to the report, Chinese leaders view the People's Liberation Army's (PLA) capabilities for a Taiwan campaign as improving, but they remain uncertain about its readiness to successfully seize
HORROR STORIES: One victim recounted not realizing they had been stabbed and seeing people bleeding, while another recalled breaking down in tears after fleeing A man on Friday died after he tried to fight the knife-wielding suspect who went on a stabbing spree near two of Taipei’s busiest metro stations, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. The 57-year-old man, identified by his family name, Yu (余), encountered the suspect at Exit M7 of Taipei Main Station and immediately tried to stop him, but was fatally wounded and later died, Chiang said, calling the incident “heartbreaking.” Yu’s family would receive at least NT$5 million (US$158,584) in compensation through the Taipei Rapid Transit Corp’s (TRTC) insurance coverage, he said after convening an emergency security response meeting yesterday morning. National
Taiwan has overtaken South Korea this year in per capita income for the first time in 23 years, IMF data showed. Per capita income is a nation’s GDP divided by the total population, used to compare average wealth levels across countries. Taiwan also beat Japan this year on per capita income, after surpassing it for the first time last year, US magazine Newsweek reported yesterday. Across Asia, Taiwan ranked fourth for per capita income at US$37,827 this year due to sustained economic growth, the report said. In the top three spots were Singapore, Macau and Hong Kong, it said. South
Taiwan is getting a day off on Christmas for the first time in 25 years. The change comes after opposition parties passed a law earlier this year to add or restore five public holidays, including Constitution Day, which falls on today, Dec. 25. The day marks the 1947 adoption of the constitution of the Republic of China, as the government in Taipei is formally known. Back then the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) governed China from Nanjing. When the KMT, now an opposition party in Taiwan, passed the legislation on holidays, it said that they would help “commemorate the history of national development.” That
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