The Executive Yuan yesterday finalized a draft pestering behavior prevention act, which proposes a maximum prison term of three years and a maximum fine of NT$300,000 for those found guilty of harassing others out of affection or hatred.
According to the draft, “pestering behavior” includes actions toward others — including their families or those with whom they have a close relationship — out of admiration, affection or resentment that cause another to feel threatened or unsafe.
Such actions include spying; blackmail; repeatedly making telephone calls or sending messages to a person on a withheld number; persistently requesting a date with a person; and unduly using contact information to purchase unsolicited items for a person, which causes the subject of one’s affection to feel disgust or fear, the bill says.
Photo: CNA
Police would be able to issue a warning or impose a fine of between NT$10,000 and NT$100,000 to a person who is proven to be harassing another, it said.
Those found guilty of a minor offense are to be offered a chance to repent and are to be given a warning.
A restraining order would be issued by a court if an offender performs any of the aforementioned actions within two years of being issued a warning or fine, the bill says.
People who breach a restraining order would face a maximum prison term of three years and a potential fine of NT$300,000, it says.
The Ministry of the Interior, which initiated the bill, said that the Social Order Maintenance Act (社會秩序維護法), the Domestic Violence Prevention Act (家庭暴力防治法) and the Sexual Harassment Prevention Act (性騷擾防治法) are ineffective when dealing with stalkers or harassers, as they only deal with sexual offenses or offenses committed by a family member.
Ministry data showed that there are between 4,000 and 5,000 cases of stalking and harassment every year, which is manageable with current police staffing levels, Deputy Minister of the Interior Hua Ching-chun (花敬群) said.
Under the Social Order Maintenance Act, people who stalk or harass others in ways that are not explicitly sexual would only incur a fine of NT$3,000, which is lenient, Criminal Investigation Bureau division head Lin Chih-cheng (林志誠) said.
The bill would effectively tighten rules against stalking and harassment if approved by the legislature, he said.
Additional reporting by Lee Hsin-fang and CNA
CHIP WAR: The new restrictions are expected to cut off China’s access to Taiwan’s technologies, materials and equipment essential to building AI semiconductors Taiwan has blacklisted Huawei Technologies Co (華為) and Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC, 中芯), dealing another major blow to the two companies spearheading China’s efforts to develop cutting-edge artificial intelligence (AI) chip technologies. The Ministry of Economic Affairs’ International Trade Administration has included Huawei, SMIC and several of their subsidiaries in an update of its so-called strategic high-tech commodities entity list, the latest version on its Web site showed on Saturday. It did not publicly announce the change. Other entities on the list include organizations such as the Taliban and al-Qaeda, as well as companies in China, Iran and elsewhere. Local companies need
CRITICISM: It is generally accepted that the Straits Forum is a CCP ‘united front’ platform, and anyone attending should maintain Taiwan’s dignity, the council said The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday said it deeply regrets that former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) echoed the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) “one China” principle and “united front” tactics by telling the Straits Forum that Taiwanese yearn for both sides of the Taiwan Strait to move toward “peace” and “integration.” The 17th annual Straits Forum yesterday opened in Xiamen, China, and while the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) local government heads were absent for the first time in 17 years, Ma attended the forum as “former KMT chairperson” and met with Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference Chairman Wang Huning (王滬寧). Wang
CROSS-STRAIT: The MAC said it barred the Chinese officials from attending an event, because they failed to provide guarantees that Taiwan would be treated with respect The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Friday night defended its decision to bar Chinese officials and tourism representatives from attending a tourism event in Taipei next month, citing the unsafe conditions for Taiwanese in China. The Taipei International Summer Travel Expo, organized by the Taiwan Tourism Exchange Association, is to run from July 18 to 21. China’s Taiwan Affairs Office spokeswoman Zhu Fenglian (朱鳳蓮) on Friday said that representatives from China’s travel industry were excluded from the expo. The Democratic Progressive Party government is obstructing cross-strait tourism exchange in a vain attempt to ignore the mainstream support for peaceful development
ELITE UNIT: President William Lai yesterday praised the National Police Agency’s Special Operations Group after watching it go through assault training and hostage rescue drills The US Navy regularly conducts global war games to develop deterrence strategies against a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, aimed at making the nation “a very difficult target to take,” US Acting Chief of Naval Operations James Kilby said on Wednesday. Testifying before the US House of Representatives Armed Services Committee, Kilby said the navy has studied the issue extensively, including routine simulations at the Naval War College. The navy is focused on five key areas: long-range strike capabilities; countering China’s command, control, communications, computers, cyber, intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and targeting; terminal ship defense; contested logistics; and nontraditional maritime denial tactics, Kilby
RSS