Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), chairman of the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), yesterday said that he supports the purpose of the anti-infiltration bill proposed by the Democratic Progressive party (DPP), but its content requires further discussion before it is passed.
The DPP has said it aims to pass the third reading of the draft on Dec. 31. It advanced to a second reading last month.
The 12-article draft would subject those who disrupt the social order under the command or at the request of “infiltration sources” to a prison term of up to seven years or a fine of NT$5 million (US$165,508), and prohibits anyone from donating to a political party, influencing elections, proposing the recall of a government official or launching a public referendum on the instructions or with the financial support of an “infiltration source.”
Photo: Chang Ching-ya, Taipei Times
“The intention behind drafting the act is okay,” Ko said yesterday on the sidelines of a campaign event for TPP legislative candidate Hsieh Wen-ching (謝文卿) in Taichung.
“For sure everyone supports the idea of preventing foreign infiltration from influencing Taiwanese politics and elections, so I support the purpose of the act,” Ko said.
However, the key point to consider is that the act would regulate Taiwanese citizens and businesspeople in China, so there should be adequate discussion about possible problems enforcing the law, he said.
Photo: Cheng Ming-hsiang, Taipei Times
Ko said when he made a similar remark on Friday, some reports and people online described him as being against the act, which he thought was “misleading.”
Ko on Friday said that the bill should not be passed without sufficient discussion, because if it was passed without a clear understanding on how it would be enforced, it would make many Taiwanese citizens feel anxious and worry about whether they were breaching the law.
Separately yesterday, People First Party Chairman and presidential candidate James Soong (宋楚瑜) said he disagrees with the draft.
“More than 2 million Taiwanese businesspeople are working hard in China to make a living for their families,” he said. “They are all our fellow citizens and should not be viewed as enemies.”
“If cross-ministerial coordination, sufficient understanding or verification of accusations cannot be achieved, allowing the act to be passed in such a hurry will affect the government’s credibility and be unfair to innocent citizens,” he said.
There is less than a month until the elections, which would represent what the latest public opinion was, so arbitrarily trying to pass the draft at this time would be controversial, Soong said.
He urged the DPP not to insist on passing the bill hastily for election gains, saying that the party should exercise restraint or it could face unsettling consequences.
Additional reporting by Cheng Ming-hsiang
‘NON-RED’: Taiwan and Ireland should work together to foster a values-driven, democratic economic system, leveraging their complementary industries, Lai said President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday expressed hopes for closer ties between Taiwan and Ireland, and that both countries could collaborate to create a values-driven, democracy-centered economic system. He made the remarks while meeting with an Irish cross-party parliamentary delegation visiting Taiwan. The delegation, led by John McGuinness, deputy speaker of the Irish house of representatives, known as the Dail, includes Irish lawmakers Malcolm Byrne, Barry Ward, Ken O’Flynn and Teresa Costello. McGuinness, who chairs the Ireland-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Association, is a friend of Taiwan, and under his leadership, the association’s influence has grown over the past few years, Lai said. Ireland is
FINAL COUNTDOWN: About 50,000 attended a pro-recall rally yesterday, while the KMT and the TPP plan to rally against the recall votes today Democracy activists, together with arts and education representatives, yesterday organized a motorcade, while thousands gathered on Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei in the evening in support of tomorrow’s recall votes. Recall votes for 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers and suspended Hsinchu City mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) are to be held tomorrow, while recall votes for seven other KMT lawmakers are scheduled for Aug. 23. The afternoon motorcade was led by the Spring Breeze Culture and Arts Foundation, the Tyzen Hsiao Foundation and the Friends of Lee Teng-hui Association, and was joined by delegates from the Taiwan Statebuilding Party and the Taiwan Solidarity
A saleswoman, surnamed Chen (陳), earlier this month was handed an 18-month prison term for embezzling more than 2,000 pairs of shoes while working at a department store in Tainan. The Tainan District Court convicted Chen of embezzlement in a ruling on July 7, sentencing her to prison for illegally profiting NT$7.32 million (US$248,929) at the expense of her employer. Chen was also given the opportunity to reach a financial settlement, but she declined. Chen was responsible for the sales counter of Nike shoes at Tainan’s Shinkong Mitsukoshi Zhongshan branch, where she had been employed since October 2019. She had previously worked
An SOS message in a bottle has been found in Ireland that is believed to have come from the Taiwanese captain of fishing vessel Yong Yu Sing No. 18 (永裕興18號), who has been missing without a trace for over four years, along with nine Indonesian crew members. The vessel, registered to Suao (蘇澳), went missing near Hawaii on Dec. 30, 2020. The ship has since been recovered, but the 10 crew members have never been found. The captain, surnamed Lee (李), is believed to have signed the note with his name. A post appeared on Reddit on Tuesday after a man
RSS