Lawmakers are slated this week to vote on a proposed amendment that would ban high-ranking officials and military officers from attending official events in China that are deemed injurious to Taiwan’s national dignity.
The third reading of proposed amendments to 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) could begin as early as Wednesday, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) said yesterday.
The DPP lawmakers have reached broad agreement over regulatory issues, including property rights, income tax, import excises and returning Taiwanese enterprises, with legal drafts more or less “settled” since June 21, he said.
Photo: Lin Liang-sheng, Taipei Times
However, the draft amendment banning former high-ranking officials from attending Chinese state events is undergoing revision, he said.
In the original proposal, such officials would be allowed to take part in Chinese state events if they have been retired for at least 15 years, but DPP lawmakers feel the restriction is inadequate and should be changed to a lifetime ban, he said.
DPP legislators have achieved “a high degree of consensus” on the issue and the caucus is in the process of incorporating the lifetime ban in the draft, which is being coordinated and finalized with Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌), he said.
DPP Legislator Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) was responsible for the motion to strike out the 15-year limit, which DPP lawmakers Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) and Kuo Kuo-wen (郭國文), and Mainland Affairs Council Minister Chen Ming-tung (陳明通) supported.
“There should be no tolerance for behavior that brings disgrace to the country, no matter how long an official has been retired for,” Lee said.
The bill, in its current form, applies restrictions to retired officials with the rank of deputy minister or above, whose work involved defense, national security, foreign affairs or China; and retired officers with the rank of lieutenant general or above.
The proposed amendment to the bill would forbid gestures in honor of symbols representing the Chinese state or the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), or participation in events held by the Chinese government, its leaders, military, intelligence or administrative apparatus, or its political affiliates.
Penalties for contravening the proposed amendment range from the deprivation of a pension or a fine of no more than NT$5 million (US$160,917) for those not receiving a pension.
In a bid to counter Chinese espionage and influence campaigns in Taiwan, DPP lawmakers have passed numerous national security bills, including amendments to the National Security Act (國家安全法) on June 19 that impose a minimum sentence of seven years for Chinese spies and raise the maximum fine for the crime to NT$100 million.
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai
Four China Coast Guard ships briefly sailed through prohibited waters near Kinmen County, Taipei said, urging Beijing to stop actions that endanger navigation safety. The Chinese ships entered waters south of Kinmen, 5km from the Chinese city of Xiamen, at about 3:30pm on Monday, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement later the same day. The ships “sailed out of our prohibited and restricted waters” about an hour later, the agency said, urging Beijing to immediately stop “behavior that endangers navigation safety.” Ministry of National Defense spokesman Sun Li-fang (孫立方) yesterday told reporters that Taiwan would boost support to the Coast Guard