The Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) yesterday called on the government to amend the National Security Act (國家安全法) and look into drafting legislation to counter false information on the Internet.
The party also called on people to refrain from spreading false information from dummy accounts aiming to affect the political sphere.
Former TSU legislator Chou Ni-an (周倪安) told a news conference that the government’s laissez-faire attitude regarding false information on the Internet has allowed the proliferation of pro-China commentary.
Photo: Su Fang-ho, Taipei Times
Accusations and reports by pro-Chinese commentators a month away from the Nov. 24 nine-in-one elections are worrying, Chou said.
The situation, if left unchecked, could topple Taiwanese society, Chou said.
On Oct. 18, Scott Busby, deputy assistant secretary of the US Department of State’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, told the Global Counter Terrorism Forum Workshop in Taipei: “We also recognize that disinformation is a threat to all democracies.”
TSU Director of Social Activity Ou Yang Jui-lien (歐陽瑞蓮) likened the presence of foreign disinformation to an intruder entering a residence.
Ou Yang cited a report by Mirror Media on Wednesday that said IP addresses linked to accounts promoting political parties and candidates originated in the Netherlands, Japan and Venezuela, and used simplified Chinese characters.
TSU spokesperson Yeh Chih-yuan (葉智遠) said China’s “red force” was ubiquitous and as the vote draws closer, its rhetoric would become more fiery.
Yeh called on the government to amend the act as soon as possible and to consider anti-“united front” and anti-infiltration legislation.
“We must punish traitors among us and counter disinformation from China to ensure the safety of Taiwanese democracy,” Yeh said.
President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) administration is seeking to join an Indo-Pacific economic framework being planned by the US, a senior official said. The government is paying close attention to the regional economic pact being touted by US President Joe Biden, although too few details have emerged from Washington for Taipei to make specific plans, the official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity. The US is expected to launch the Indo-Pacific economic framework next month after negotiations with Australia, India and Japan, the official said. The economic initiative is to tackle trade facilitation, standards for the digital economy and technology, supply-chain resiliency and
PIVOTAL ROLE: Taiwan’s importance in the global chip supply chain can be bolstered by domestic equipment manufacturing, President Tsai Ing-wen said Efforts must be made to better secure Taiwan’s place in the global supply chain by localizing production of equipment and facilities used by the semiconductor industry, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said yesterday. Tsai discussed the issue during a meeting with representatives from the Taiwan Electronic Equipment Industry Association at the Presidential Office in Taipei. Product shortages throughout the COVID-19 pandemic — particularly of automotive chips — highlighted the pivotal role of Taiwan in the global supply chain, she said. Tsai thanked the association for cooperating with the government on the shared goal of localizing production of important semiconductor industry equipment.
SEPARATE CASE? A woman tested positive when she went with her daughter to be tested, because her daughter had taken the same bus to school as a steakhouse worker The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday reported 10 local COVID-19 cases, six of whom had visited a steakhouse in Taoyuan where an infection cluster has been reported. Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center, said that of the 10 local infections, one case — No. 17,928 — is a Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport disease prevention staffer who works in the area where inbound travelers collect their saliva for a COVID-19 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test, and sometimes at the fever screening station. The staffer had tested negative in a PCR test on Jan. 9 and
TRACING UNDER WAY: The CECC has identified six transmission chains among 25 recently confirmed COVID-19 cases, including those linked to a restaurant and a bank The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday reported 54 new COVID-19 infections — 44 imported and 10 local — and identified six transmission chains among local cases. Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center, said the imported cases are 18 who tested positive upon arrival at the airport and 26 who tested positive during quarantine. Of the local cases, seven are associated with a cluster infection at a Tasty Steak (西堤牛排) outlet in Taoyuan’s Zhongli District (中壢), one is linked to a family of four with COVID-19 reported on Monday, one is a family member of an
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