Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Wu Ching-chih (吳清池) yesterday called on the legislature to pass an amendment to the Money Laundering Prevention Act (洗錢防制法) next week that would widen the Act’s reach to insider trading.
Wu said at the the legislature’s state affairs forum that the nation would be able to tackle international crimes and terrorism more effectively if the legislature approved his proposal.
The Judiciary and Organic Laws and Statutes Committee completed a preliminary review of the bill on Thursday, extending the reach of the Act to offenses such as insider trading, breach of trust and embezzlement.
Wu, convener of the committee, said the amendment, if passed, would boost the nation’s bid to rejoin the International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO).
Taiwan lost its membership at the ICPO in 1984, when China took over Taiwan’s seat.
In a related development, the legislature rejected a proposal by the Democratic Progressive Party to stall a bill promulgated by the Executive Yuan to downsize the Cabinet.
Legislators agreed to put the bill, which would reduce the Executive Yuan’s 37 branches to 29 organizations, up for review by the Judiciary and Organic Laws and Statutes Committee.
Legislators also passed an amendment to the Crime Victims Protection Act (犯罪被害人保護法) that would entitle victims of sexual assault to apply for compensation from the government.
Current regulations only allow family members of victims who had been killed or those who sustained serious injuries in crimes to seek compensation from the Association for Victims Support, an organization affiliated with the ministries of Justice and the Interior.
During reviews of the amendment, Minister of Justice Wang Ching-feng (王清峰) said that protecting the rights of victims of sexual assault was an act of social justice.
“Sexual assault is not only a sex-related crime, but also a violent offense ... Victims of such assaults are usually physically and psychologically traumatized,” she said.
In accordance with the amendment, the victims would be entitled to compensation of up to NT$1 million (US$30,300).
Former Czech Republic-based Taiwanese researcher Cheng Yu-chin (鄭宇欽) has been sentenced to seven years in prison on espionage-related charges, China’s Ministry of State Security announced yesterday. China said Cheng was a spy for Taiwan who “masqueraded as a professor” and that he was previously an assistant to former Cabinet secretary-general Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰). President-elect William Lai (賴清德) on Wednesday last week announced Cho would be his premier when Lai is inaugurated next month. Today is China’s “National Security Education Day.” The Chinese ministry yesterday released a video online showing arrests over the past 10 years of people alleged to be
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