The Executive Yuan yesterday approved amendments to toughen sanctions against economic spies working for China or other foreign nations.
Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) told a Cabinet meeting that China in the past few years has intensified its “red supply chain” infiltration of industries in Taiwan.
Chinese firms are attracting high-tech talent from Taiwan and stealing “core” technologies, Su said.
Photo: Lee Hsin-fang, Taipei Times
As a result, it is necessary to establish stricter regulations and a more robust national security policy to protect such technologies, he said.
The proposed amendments to the National Security Act (國家安全法) stipulate that anyone who steals Taiwan’s core technologies or trade secrets to give them to China or other hostile foreign forces would face five to 12 years in prison, and be fined NT$50 million to NT$100 million (US$1.79 million to US$3.59 million).
Those who give their own trade secrets of Taiwan’s core technologies to China, including Hong Kong and Macau, or other foreign jurisdictions would face up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to NT$50 million, the proposed amendments say.
Draft amendments to the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (兩岸人民關係條例) say that individuals or members of organizations that receive government subsidies for work on national core technologies must report to the government and secure approval if they want to travel to China less than three years after working on government-sponsored projects.
Such people who travel to China without securing prior approval would face a fine of up to NT$10 million, the draft amendments say.
The proposed changes to the National Security Act are necessary, as they offer two more layers of protection to prevent Taiwan’s core technologies from being illegally obtained by foreign hostile forces, complimenting protections in the Trade Secrets Act (營業秘密法), the Ministry of Justice said.
The Intellectual Property and Commercial Court and the Taiwan High Court are to have jurisdiction over cases of economic spying and extraterritorial use of core technologies, the ministry said.
Department of Prosecutorial Affairs Director-General Lin Jinn-tsun (林錦村) said that core technologies are those that are regulated by the government to uphold national defense and the safety of key infrastructure.
They also include leading technologies that have the potential to greatly elevate Taiwan’s global competitiveness, Lin said.
A list of core technologies is to be announced by the Executive Yuan, he said.
The proposed amendments need to be approved by the Legislative Yuan and promulgated by President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) before they take effect.
The US government has signed defense cooperation agreements with Japan and the Philippines to boost the deterrence capabilities of countries in the first island chain, a report by the National Security Bureau (NSB) showed. The main countries on the first island chain include the two nations and Taiwan. The bureau is to present the report at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee tomorrow. The US military has deployed Typhon missile systems to Japan’s Yamaguchi Prefecture and Zambales province in the Philippines during their joint military exercises. It has also installed NMESIS anti-ship systems in Japan’s Okinawa
‘WIN-WIN’: The Philippines, and central and eastern European countries are important potential drone cooperation partners, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung said Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) in an interview published yesterday confirmed that there are joint ventures between Taiwan and Poland in the drone industry. Lin made the remark in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper). The government-backed Taiwan Excellence Drone International Business Opportunities Alliance and the Polish Chamber of Unmanned Systems on Wednesday last week signed a memorandum of understanding in Poland to develop a “non-China” supply chain for drones and work together on key technologies. Asked if Taiwan prioritized Poland among central and eastern European countries in drone collaboration, Lin
TRAGEDY STRIKES TAIPEI: The suspect died after falling off a building after he threw smoke grenades into Taipei Main Station and went on a killing spree in Zhongshan A 27-year-old suspect allegedly threw smoke grenades in Taipei Main Station and then proceeded to Zhongshan MRT Station in a random killing spree that resulted in the death of the suspect and two other civilians, and seven injured, including one in critical condition, as of press time last night. The suspect, identified as a man surnamed Chang Wen (張文), allegedly began the attack at Taipei Main Station, the Taipei Fire Department said, adding that it received a report at 5:24pm that smoke grenades had been thrown in the station. One man in his 50s was rushed to hospital after a cardiac arrest
ON ALERT: Taiwan’s partners would issue warnings if China attempted to use Interpol to target Taiwanese, and the global body has mechanisms to prevent it, an official said China has stationed two to four people specializing in Taiwan affairs at its embassies in several democratic countries to monitor and harass Taiwanese, actions that the host nations would not tolerate, National Security Bureau (NSB) Director-General Tsai Ming-yen (蔡明彥) said yesterday. Tsai made the comments at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, which asked him and Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) to report on potential conflicts in the Taiwan Strait and military preparedness. Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Michelle Lin (林楚茵) expressed concern that Beijing has posted personnel from China’s Taiwan Affairs Office to its
RSS