The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) would propose a centralized surveillance agency in the Taiwan High Court to prevent illegal and political wiretapping in the future, the DPP caucus said yesterday.
The court would be the single institution in charge of coordinating national wiretap assignments, taking over the function from a range of agencies across government, including the Investigation Bureau of the Ministry of Justice (MJIB) and the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) of the National Police Agency, DPP Legislator Wu Yi-chen (吳宜臻) told a press conference.
The proposal stems from the administrative branch’s abuse of wiretaps on the legislature, prosecutors and private citizens, Wu said.
Other proposals would be to prohibit information obtained from wiretaps from being used outside criminal investigation purposes and demand the destruction of information unrelated to the original purpose, DPP Legislator Wu Ping-jui (吳秉叡) said.
The DPP proposes a special court to review wiretap applications, as well as stricter standards on extensions, he added.
Public servants who use information beyond the original surveillance purpose would be subject to a prison term of up to three years, Wu said.
Proposals to amend the Communication Security and Surveillance Act (通訊保障及監察法), the Code of Criminal Procedure (刑事訴訟法) and the organic acts for the courts, the MJIB and the CIB are to be submitted to the Legislative Yuan’s Conference Department today, caucus convener Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) told the press conference.
“Hopefully the proposals will be sent to respective committees in the plenary session on Friday,” he said.
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus said it respected the proposal.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
WEATHER Typhoon forming: CWA A tropical depression is expected to form into a typhoon as early as today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, adding that the storm’s path remains uncertain. Before the weekend, it would move toward the Philippines, the agency said. Some time around Monday next week, it might reach a turning point, either veering north toward waters east of Taiwan or continuing westward across the Philippines, the CWA said. Meanwhile, the eye of Typhoon Kalmaegi was 1,310km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, as of 2am yesterday, it said. The storm is forecast to move through central
RSS