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Define China as foreign country: lawmaker

Some key members of the Hand-in-Hand Taiwan Alliance, Ng Chiau-tong, Huang Tien-lin and Hwang Kun-hu, from right to left, hold a press conference in Taipei yesterday to condemn the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) delegation's agreement with Beijing. PHOTO: GEORGE TSORNG, TAIPEI TIMES

A Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmaker yesterday suggested a revision to the Criminal Code defining China as a foreign country so that those committing de facto treason can be brought to justice.

"The Criminal Code should be amended such that China is clearly defined as another country, so that those going there and plotting with the Chinese government to launch a military assault on Taiwan can be found guilty and receive appropriate punishment," DPP Legislator Wang Sing-nan (王幸男) said.

Wang was speaking after an announcement that Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Vice Chairman and Legislative Vice Speaker Chiang Pin-kun (江丙坤) was being investigated by prosecutors. An unidentified plaintiff filed a lawsuit at the High Court on Friday, claiming Chiang had committed treason, the maximum sentence for which is the death penalty.

The Statute Governing the Relations between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (台灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), however, fails to define China as a foreign country.

"There is a grey area in existing laws that means no one can be punished for committing treason, because China is not considered a foreign country," Wang said.

He said he would initiate a signature drive today to seek support for the proposal.

Wang said he hoped to see the revisions pass into law before the end of the current legislative session.

Wang needs to collect 30 signatures from his colleagues to validate the proposition. It must then be placed on the agenda of the legislature's Procedure Committee, which will decide whether to send it to other legislative committees for further review or directly to a second reading.

Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) caucus whip Lo Chih-ming (羅志明) yesterday said that although his caucus would endorse Wang's proposal, it would not solve the problem. A more practical approach had to be adopted, he said.

"To solve the problem once and for all, the Constitution must be amended or even rewritten to clearly describe national boundaries and have it cover only Taiwan, Penghu and Kinmen," he said.

The Constitution does not clearly define the "existing national boundaries," and an interpretation by the Council of Grand Justices in 1993 failed to resolve the issue.
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