Thu, Jan 02, 2020 page3

• Anti-Infiltration Act: Han vows to review Act if he wins vote

  MONKEY DO: The KMT presidential candidate said that as an opposition party, the DPP often criticized the KMT for using its majority, but is now doing the same

  • By Ann Maxon / Staff reporter
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  Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) yesterday vowed to review the newly passed Anti-infiltration Act (反滲透法) if he is elected president and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) regains control of the Legislative Yuan.

  The act is “a bad law” that would cause fear among the public once in effect, the KMT presidential candidate told reporters in Tainan.

  “If I am elected president and the KMT regains a majority in the legislature, we would definitely review the act to ensure that Taiwanese can live without fear,” Han said.

  

  The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday holds a flag-raising ceremony at its headquarters in Taipei, attended by KMT chairman Wu Den-yih, front row second right, former president Ma Ying-jeou, front row third right, KMT vice presidential candidate Simon Chang, front row third left.

  Photo: Shih Hsiao-kuang, Taipei Times

  The passage of the act on Tuesday by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)-controlled legislature is an example of the “tyranny of the majority,” he said.

  When the DPP was a minority party in the legislature, it often criticized the KMT using its legislative majority to push through bills, he added.

  “Now we see the DPP doing the same thing, only in a worse manner: The act passed a first reading without undergoing an initial review and the Executive Yuan did not even offer an alternative version,” Han said.

  “What is most unbelievable is that President [Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文)] directly ordered its passage,” he said, adding that the way the act was passed was unacceptable to the public.

  Earlier at a flag-raising ceremony in Tainan, Han compared the passage of the act to tying a bomb to people’s necks, saying that it allows the DPP to “blow up” anyone it chooses.

  “The DPP must think clearly — do you want people to vote for you because they love you, or vote for you because they fear you?” Han said.

  Separately yesterday, former premier Simon Chang (張善政), Han’s running mate, said at a flag-raising ceremony at KMT headquarters in Taipei that the passage of the act was “the darkest day in the history of the Republic of China since its democratization.”

  The act’s passage went against the will of the Taiwanese public, he said, adding that most look forward to seeing it reviewed.

  Former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), who was also at the event, said: “The passage of the Anti-infiltration Act means the return of the Martial Law period.”

  Last month, National Taiwan University professor Su Hung-dah (蘇宏達) was summoned for questioning by police after criticizing the National Palace Museum’s renovation plan in a video he posted on Facebook, Ma said.

  As a frequent critic of the act, “I might be next [to be summoned for questioning], but I am not scared, because the Anti-infiltration Act is unconstitutional,” he added.

  The Mainland Affairs Council said that the passage of the act was both necessary and in line with public expectations.

  It aims to protect national security, social order and Taiwan’s democracy from external threats, the council said, adding that similar legislation has been passed in the US, Germany, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

  The act only punishes people who make political donations, lobby for a political cause, campaign for a political candidate, upset social order or spread disinformation to influence elections under the instruction or sponsorship of a foreign government or organization, it said.

  Businesspeople, academics and students engaging in normal cross-strait exchanges would not be affected, it added.

  Additional reporting by Chung Li-hua and Lai Hsiao-tung
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