Taiwanese found to be working as community director assistants in China would be given a chance to defend themselves, after which they must give up the position offered by Beijing or be fined, Minister of the Interior Hsu Kuo-yung (徐國勇) said yesterday.
The Mainland Affairs Council said it has found that 35 Taiwanese — including eight borough wardens — are working as community director assistants.
The position is the equivalent level to that of borough or village directors, Hsu said, adding that taking up the post in China contravenes Article 33-1 of the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例).
Photo: Su Fun-her, Taipei Times
The act prohibits Republic of China citizens from assuming any positions affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party, state or military.
Alleged perpetrators would be asked to appear at the council to give their account of the matter, such as how they came to be offered the position and whether they are willing to quit, Hsu said.
Those found to have taken up such posts could be fined between NT$100,000 and NT$500,000, the council said.
In response to Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Liu Shih-fang’s (劉世芳) question about whether Article 79 of the Local Government Act (地方制度法) could be invoked to remove the wardens from their government positions in Taiwan if they are found to have taken government posts in China, Hsu said that only administrative fines are applicable, as borough wardens and village mayors are not subject to the same laws as higher-level elected officials.
Administrative fines — the usual process for handling such cases — is insufficient, Liu said.
Meanwhile, the ministry issued a statement to clarify Premier Su Tseng-chang’s (蘇貞昌) statements at a National Police Administration public security meeting on Wednesday last week.
The premier’s comments were condensed, Hsu said, adding that his original statement said that local police chiefs or captains would be reassigned only if they failed to take swift action regarding brawls or fights at “special entertainment businesses” under their jurisdiction.
The term refers to karaoke bars, saunas, massage parlors and hostess bars that offer illegal sexual services, as well as nightclubs.
Officers would not be posted at the doors of such establishments, but station chiefs or precinct captains should take swift and effective action to handle any issues, Hsu said in response to questions from People First Party Legislator Chen Yi-chieh (陳怡潔).
From Monday to Friday last week, Taipei police detained 604 people in 598 incidents on charges such as possession of firearms and narcotics, Hsu said.
The minister called on owners of special entertainment establishments to exhibit self-discipline and keep their premises clear of drugs and weapons, or else their businesses would be shut down.
A group of Taiwanese-American and Tibetan-American students at Harvard University on Saturday disrupted Chinese Ambassador to the US Xie Feng’s (謝鋒) speech at the school, accusing him of being responsible for numerous human rights violations. Four students — two Taiwanese Americans and two from Tibet — held up banners inside a conference hall where Xie was delivering a speech at the opening ceremony of the Harvard Kennedy School China Conference 2024. In a video clip provided by the Coalition of Students Resisting the CCP (Chinese Communist Party), Taiwanese-American Cosette Wu (吳亭樺) and Tibetan-American Tsering Yangchen are seen holding banners that together read:
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