The Ministry of National Defense is set to amend Article 4 of the Regulations of Personnel Security Investigation for Participants in the National Defense Security Program (涉及國家安全或重大利益公務人員特殊查核辦法) to better screen national security-related employees, the Executive Yuan Gazette said.
The act was passed in accordance with the Defense Act (國防法) as a type of administrative order. The Administrative Procedure Law (行政程序法) stipulates that amendments to the regulations need only be announced in the Gazette and do not need legislative approval.
Questions or opinions concerning the announcement’s contents must be typed out and filed with the General Political Warfare Bureau’s security section within seven days.
The regulations were enacted in May 2001, when the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) was in power.
The ministry said the President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) administration’s inclusion of national loyalty and security in the parameters of investigation in the amendment was an effort to “reinforce security and safety of national -defense-related personnel.”
The amended article says that security investigations will now include items such as: loyalty to the nation, influence by foreign or enemy forces, personal records, economic welfare, physical health and violation of national defense administrative information.
In addition, the amended article also empowers the security section to gather information on the person under investigation, including nationality, credit card information and medical records.
The security section is allowed to use scientific equipment and psychological tests on the investigated person to verify information.
National Taiwan University professor Cheng Ching-jen (鄭欽仁) said the language raised doubts on whether the investigations would be just and above party politics, making it difficult to avoid a “white terror” within military ranks, a reference to decades of repression of Taiwanese by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), during which thousands of people disappeared, were detained or killed.
Cheng said the Ma administration’s definition of “influenced by foreign or enemy powers” would be especially ironic in light of the Ma government’s China-leaning policies.
Cheng said that rather than investigating “national defense-related personnel,” the Ma administration should investigate potential security leaks among retired senior military officials who often visit China.
The announcement comes a little more than two months after Army General Lo Hsien-che (羅賢哲) was arrested on suspicion of passing classified defense information to a Chinese handler since 2004.
Additional reporting by Staff Writer
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