The New Power Party (NPP) yesterday described the passage of the Anti-infiltration Act (反滲透法) as a minimal but correct step.
Although the act provides a stronger legal tool to fight Chinese infiltration, there is obvious room for improvement, the party said in a statement.
For example, the act does not bar people from taking control of Taiwanese media outlets or running political advertisements for Beijing under the instruction or sponsorship of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the NPP said.
Nor does it bar people from spreading false information, which could affect national security, or releasing joint statements with the CCP to undermine Taiwan’s freedom and democracy under the instruction or sponsorship of the CCP, it said.
While the NPP had proposed motions to add articles addressing those areas, they were blocked by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislative caucus, it added.
Other areas that the act does not address include running for office, initiating referendums, purchasing key national infrastructure or politically sensitive technologies under the instruction or sponsorship of the CCP, the NPP said.
To protect the nation’s democracy, related laws must be further enhanced, it said.
While the act marks an important step toward building a stronger defense mechanism for Taiwan’s democracy, it is not “fully satisfactory” in its content, NPP Legislator Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) said in a livesteam.
The behaviors banned in the act are “minimal,” he said, adding that he finds it especially regrettable that the NPP’s proposal to add articles curbing Chinese infiltration of Taiwanese media was blocked.
Under current laws, Taiwanese media outlets running propaganda about unification for the CCP would be fined NT$100,000 to NT$500,000, he said.
To address the issue, he and Internet celebrity Holger Chen (陳之漢) on June 23 last year held a rally to call for tougher legislation to counter pro-China media outlets spreading fake news, he said.
Hopefully, all the important bills that failed to pass could be picked up in the next legislative session, he said.
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