The Chinese government’s proposed national security law for Hong Kong could jeopardize the right to personal freedom of Taiwanese in the region, National Security Council (NSC) Deputy Secretary-General Tsai Ming-yen (蔡明彥) said yesterday.
China’s National People’s Congress on Friday last week unveiled a proposal to enact a Hong Kong security law.
The proposed “enforcement mechanisms,” which are expected to ban treason, subversion and sedition, are being introduced in response to last year’s pro-democracy protests in the territory.
Photo: Chu Pei-hsiung, Taipei Times
If Beijing passes the controversial law, it would have broken its promise to respect the territory’s autonomy under its “one country, two systems” model, Tsai said in response to a question from Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Wu Yu-chin (吳玉琴) at a meeting of the legislature’s Finance Committee in Taipei.
The council is concerned that the law could affect the personal freedom of Taiwanese, such as businesspeople or workers at non-governmental organizations, when they engage in interviews or other exchanges in the region, Tsai said.
The legislation would overturn the special status — both legally and politically — that China has assigned to Hong Kong as a Special Administrative Region, he said.
Asked by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lai Shyh-bao (賴士葆) whether the proposed law would impact Hong Kong’s financial markets and lead to capital flowing to Taiwan, Tsai said that it could have that effect.
As investors are based in the territory due to its special status, passage of the proposed legislation could result in the flight of foreign capital, as well as talent, Tsai said, adding that the council would pay close attention to developments.
The council would also need to review whether capital investments from Hong Kong would need to be redefined as Chinese capital, Tsai said in response to a query from DPP Legislator Kao Chia-yu (高嘉瑜).
Wu urged the government to respond with caution to the proposed law — which would give the Hong Kong government the power to detain or incarcerate individuals on subversion or “other unwarranted charges” — to safeguard the rights of Taiwanese in the territory.
Beijing has never given up on annexing Taiwan, she said, adding that it has waged several “wars” against the nation, including “public opinion and legal warfare.”
Taiwan every month is subject to about 30 million cyberattacks likely orchestrated by the Chinese Communist Party, and although the interception rate is as high as 99.99 percent, the 0.01 percent not intercepted could be a loophole, she said, citing Executive Yuan data.
From the increasing and intensified number of cyberattacks on Taiwan, it is clear that Beijing has created a “nationwide cyberarmy,” Tsai said.
The council would stay abreast of cybersecurity developments in Taiwan and other nations to ensure the best defensive policies are implemented when required, he said.
Additional reporting by CNA
Conflict with Taiwan could leave China with “massive economic disruption, catastrophic military losses, significant social unrest, and devastating sanctions,” a US think tank said in a report released on Monday. The German Marshall Fund released a report titled If China Attacks Taiwan: The Consequences for China of “Minor Conflict” and “Major War” Scenarios. The report details the “massive” economic, military, social and international costs to China in the event of a minor conflict or major war with Taiwan, estimating that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) could sustain losses of more than half of its active-duty ground forces, including 100,000 troops. Understanding Chinese
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday said it is closely monitoring developments in Venezuela, and would continue to cooperate with democratic allies and work together for regional and global security, stability, and prosperity. The remarks came after the US on Saturday launched a series of airstrikes in Venezuela and kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who was later flown to New York along with his wife. The pair face US charges related to drug trafficking and alleged cooperation with gangs designated as terrorist organizations. Maduro has denied the allegations. The ministry said that it is closely monitoring the political and economic situation
UNRELENTING: China attempted cyberattacks on Taiwan’s critical infrastructure 2.63 million times per day last year, up from 1.23 million in 2023, the NSB said China’s cyberarmy has long engaged in cyberattacks against Taiwan’s critical infrastructure, employing diverse and evolving tactics, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said yesterday, adding that cyberattacks on critical energy infrastructure last year increased 10-fold compared with the previous year. The NSB yesterday released a report titled Analysis on China’s Cyber Threats to Taiwan’s Critical Infrastructure in 2025, outlining the number of cyberattacks, major tactics and hacker groups. Taiwan’s national intelligence community identified a large number of cybersecurity incidents last year, the bureau said in a statement. China’s cyberarmy last year launched an average of 2.63 million intrusion attempts per day targeting Taiwan’s critical
AGING: As of last month, people aged 65 or older accounted for 20.06 percent of the total population and the number of couples who got married fell by 18,685 from 2024 Taiwan has surpassed South Korea as the country least willing to have children, with an annual crude birthrate of 4.62 per 1,000 people, Ministry of the Interior data showed yesterday. The nation was previously ranked the second-lowest country in terms of total fertility rate, or the average number of children a woman has in her lifetime. However, South Korea’s fertility rate began to recover from 2023, with total fertility rate rising from 0.72 and estimated to reach 0.82 to 0.85 by last year, and the crude birthrate projected at 6.7 per 1,000 people. Japan’s crude birthrate was projected to fall below six,
RSS