As the current legislative session draws to an end, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus has reportedly decided to pass its proposed anti-infiltration bill, a source close to the matter said yesterday.
The draft last week advanced to a second reading.
Although the Executive Yuan has said it would respect the caucus’ decision regarding the bill and did not sponsor its own version, it hopes the bill will be passed in this session, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous.
DPP caucus members have agreed to replace a bill to crack down on Chinese Communist Party (CCP) proxies in the nation with the anti-infiltration bill, which they believe is less controversial, the source said.
The draft proposes that any person ordered or funded by “infiltration sources” to influence elections or referendums be sentenced to a maximum of five years in prison or fined up to NT$5 million (US$163,934).
Any person ordered or funded by “infiltration sources” to use violence or coercion to disrupt peaceful assemblies could be sentenced to one to seven years in prison or fined up to NT$5 million, it says.
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) had previously instructed the caucus to pass the bill against CCP proxies in this legislative session, but DPP lawmakers had been stumped by how to define CCP proxies, which was bound to be contentious, the source said.
The caucus later decided not to dwell on the concept of “proxies,” but to focus on actions aimed at infiltrating society, they said.
Self-confessed Chinese spy William Wang Liqiang’s (王立強) revelations that he had been ordered by Beijing to influence last year’s local elections provided the caucus with the opportune moment to push the legislation, the source said, adding that this would meet the expectations of most DPP supporters.
Separately yesterday, reporters asked Tsai to comment on reports that retired army lieutenant general Lo Wen-shan (羅文山) had led a group of people, including Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) member Xu Zhiming (許智明), to meet with then-president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) at the Presidential Office Building on Dec. 23, 2008.
It showed that Chinese infiltration in Taiwan is ubiquitous, Tsai said.
Lo on Tuesday was sentenced to 30 months in prison for accepting donations totaling more than NT$10 million from Xu.
A photograph of the meeting was posted on the Web site of the Huangpu Four Seas Concentric Association, where Lo served as chairman.
The Lo case should serve as a warning to Taiwanese that even someone with a background such as Xu’s could enter the Presidential Office Building, which “is not good,” Tsai said.
DPP Legislator Wang Ting-yu (王定宇) pointed out a woman in the photograph named Huang Ziyu (黃紫玉), saying she is also a CPPCC member and a member of the China Council for the Promotion of Peaceful National Unification, which is headed by CPPCC Chairman Wang Yang (汪洋).
On Tuesday the court ruled that Lo, a KMT Central Standing Committee member at the time, had asked for money from Xu, specifying that it would be used to run campaign advertisements for Ma and the KMT, Wang said.
Lo took money from Xu, then took him to the Presidential Office Building to meet with Ma, Wang said, adding that Ma and the presidential office secretary-general at the time could likely not deny knowing about the donation.
Ma’s office on Friday said that all political donations he accepted during his two presidential campaigns had been reported to the Control Yuan, adding that such information, along with who he had met in the Presidential Office Building, is in the public domain and can be found on the Internet.
However, it was found that Ma’s meeting with Lo was not listed in his official schedule.
Ma yesterday said that during his meeting with Lo, he had not been introduced to Xu or Huang.
Lo should engage in serious introspection over the scandal, he added.
Additional reporting by Su Yung-yao and Peng Chien-li
Alain Robert, known as the "French Spider-Man," praised Alex Honnold as exceptionally well-prepared after the US climber completed a free solo ascent of Taipei 101 yesterday. Robert said Honnold's ascent of the 508m-tall skyscraper in just more than one-and-a-half hours without using safety ropes or equipment was a remarkable achievement. "This is my life," he said in an interview conducted in French, adding that he liked the feeling of being "on the edge of danger." The 63-year-old Frenchman climbed Taipei 101 using ropes in December 2004, taking about four hours to reach the top. On a one-to-10 scale of difficulty, Robert said Taipei 101
Nipah virus infection is to be officially listed as a category 5 notifiable infectious disease in Taiwan in March, while clinical treatment guidelines are being formulated, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. With Nipah infections being reported in other countries and considering its relatively high fatality rate, the centers on Jan. 16 announced that it would be listed as a notifiable infectious disease to bolster the nation’s systematic early warning system and increase public awareness, the CDC said. Bangladesh reported four fatal cases last year in separate districts, with three linked to raw date palm sap consumption, CDC Epidemic Intelligence
Two Taiwanese prosecutors were questioned by Chinese security personnel at their hotel during a trip to China’s Henan Province this month, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. The officers had personal information on the prosecutors, including “when they were assigned to their posts, their work locations and job titles,” MAC Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said. On top of asking about their agencies and positions, the officers also questioned the prosecutors about the Cross-Strait Joint Crime-Fighting and Judicial Mutual Assistance Agreement, a pact that serves as the framework for Taiwan-China cooperation on combating crime and providing judicial assistance, Liang
US climber Alex Honnold left Taiwan this morning a day after completing a free-solo ascent of Taipei 101, a feat that drew cheers from onlookers and gained widespread international attention. Honnold yesterday scaled the 101-story skyscraper without a rope or safety harness. The climb — the highest urban free-solo ascent ever attempted — took just more than 90 minutes and was streamed live on Netflix. It was covered by major international news outlets including CNN, the New York Times, the Guardian and the Wall Street Journal. As Honnold prepared to leave Taiwan today, he attracted a crowd when he and his wife, Sanni,
RSS