The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus unveiled an anti-infiltration bill yesterday, proposing that illegal disruption of social order or assemblies under the command or request of “infiltration sources” should be subject to a maximum penalty of seven years in prison and a fine of NT$5 million (US$163,897).
The draft is needed to improve the nation’s legal infrastructure against increasing anti-democratic threats by hostile external forces, the DPP caucus said.
These forces have not backed down in their attempts to annex Taiwan, but have been intensifying the means by which they intend to meddle in elections and rattle social order, it said.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
This poses a serious threat to the nation’s sovereignty and democracy, it said.
“Infiltration sources” are defined in the bill as organizations or institutions affiliated with the government, political parties or other political groups of a foreign hostile force, and individuals dispatched by such entities.
A hostile force is defined as a country or group at war with or in a military standoff with Taiwan that upholds the idea of jeopardizing the nation’s sovereignty by non-peaceful means.
The 12-article draft prohibits anyone from making political donations, influencing elections, proposing the recall of government officials or launching public referendums at the instruction or with the financial support of an infiltration source.
It also prohibits lobbying and using illegal means to disrupt social order or jeopardize a public assembly at the instruction or with the financial support of a source of infiltration.
The caucus said it has been working on the bill for some time and that it has nothing to do with claims by self-proclaimed Chinese spy William Wang Liqiang (王立強) that he had been tasked with infiltrating Taiwan and interfering in elections.
“It is the shared duty of the ruling and opposition parties to maintain national security,” DPP caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) said, calling on the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) to support the proposal.
Hopefully, it could be passed before the current legislative session ends at the end of next month, Ker said.
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) was sentenced to six months in prison, commutable to a fine, by the New Taipei District Court today for contravening the Personal Data Protection Act (個人資料保護法) in a case linked to an alleged draft-dodging scheme. Wang allegedly paid NT$3.6 million (US$114,380) to an illegal group to help him evade mandatory military service through falsified medical documents, prosecutors said. He transferred the funds to Chen Chih-ming (陳志明), the alleged mastermind of a draft-evasion ring, although he lost contact with him as he was already in detention on fraud charges, they said. Chen is accused of helping a
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
SECURITY: Starlink owner Elon Musk has taken pro-Beijing positions, and allowing pro-China companies to control Taiwan’s critical infrastructure is risky, a legislator said Starlink was reluctant to offer services in Taiwan because of the nation’s extremely high penetration rates in 4G and 5G services, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said yesterday. The ministry made the comments at a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, which reviewed amendments to Article 36 of the Telecommunications Management Act (電信管理法). Article 36 bans foreigners from holding more than 49 percent of shares in public telecommunications networks, while shares foreigners directly and indirectly hold are also capped at 60 percent of the total, unless specified otherwise by law. The amendments, sponsored by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Ko
A Japan Self-Defense Forces vessel entered the Taiwan Strait yesterday, Japanese media reported. After passing through the Taiwan Strait, the Ikazuchi was to proceed to the South China Sea to take part in a joint military exercise with the US and the Philippines, the reports said. Japan Self-Defense Force vessels were first reported to have passed through the strait in September, 2024, with two further transits taking place in February and June last year, the Asahi Shimbun reported. Yesterday’s transit also marked the first time since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi took office that a Japanese warship has been sent through the Taiwan
RSS