Beijing’s widened anti-espionage legislation is likely to pose heightened risks to Taiwanese visiting or transiting through China, National Security Bureau Director-General Tsai Ming-yen (蔡明彥) said yesterday.
The amended Counterespionage Law, which was passed by the Chinese National People’s Congress on Wednesday last week and is to take effect in July, would have an impact on the safety of Taiwanese in China, Tsai told lawmakers at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei.
The legislation broadens the definition of spying to encompass being affiliated with “surrogates” of foreign intelligence agencies, “Internet-based espionage” and “activities that affect China’s economic interests,” he said.
Photo: CNA
These developments are worrying for Taiwanese entrepreneurs, journalists and human rights advocates visiting or transiting through China, and could cause cross-strait relations to deteriorate, Tsai said.
Former military service members, civil servants, and former and current members of civic groups should be aware that their smartphones or other electronic devices could be searched by Chinese customs officials for incriminating images or texts, he said.
People could face legal repercussions for things they have done or said outside of China’s jurisdiction, he told legislators.
Beijing’s strategy of facilitating unification through cross-strait exchanges conflicts with its efforts to retain its hold on power by regulating interactions among Chinese, which would make dealing with China more fraught for Taiwanese, he said.
An official familiar with the matter said that the amended law’s definition of spying can include speaking negatively about China on the Internet, conducting a public opinion survey, or taking cellphone pictures of rare earth mining sites.
Being overly solicitous to representatives of China’s state-owned enterprises, hiring former employees of Chinese businesses, visiting Xinjiang or Tibet, or drawing a map for personal use could lead to criminal charges, the official said on condition of anonymity.
Taiwanese business owners could face false accusations of spying from their competitors, they added.
China’s counterespionage act — which appeared to have been written to target foreign nationals — empowers authorities to define almost any undesirable activity as spying, National Cheng Kung University political science professor Hung Chin-fu (洪敬富) said.
The legislation is likely to have far-reaching consequences for China, including scaring off potential investors and sparking a capital flight from the country, he added.
DEFENSE: The first set of three NASAMS that were previously purchased is expected to be delivered by the end of this year and deployed near the capital, sources said Taiwan plans to procure 28 more sets of M-142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), as well as nine additional sets of National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS), military sources said yesterday. Taiwan had previously purchased 29 HIMARS launchers from the US and received the first 11 last year. Once the planned purchases are completed and delivered, Taiwan would have 57 sets of HIMARS. The army has also increased the number of MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) purchased from 64 to 84, the sources added. Each HIMARS launch pod can carry six Guided Multiple Launch Rocket Systems, capable of
Tropical Storm Podul strengthened into a typhoon at 8pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, with a sea warning to be issued late last night or early this morning. As of 8pm, the typhoon was 1,020km east of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving west at 23kph. The storm carried maximum sustained winds of 119kph and gusts reaching 155kph, the CWA said. Based on the tropical storm’s trajectory, a land warning could be issued any time from midday today, it added. CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said Podul is a fast-moving storm that is forecast to bring its heaviest rainfall and strongest
TRAJECTORY: The severe tropical storm is predicted to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday and Thursday, and would influence the nation to varying degrees, a forecaster said The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it would likely issue a sea warning for Tropical Storm Podul tomorrow morning and a land warning that evening at the earliest. CWA forecaster Lin Ting-yi (林定宜) said the severe tropical storm is predicted to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday and Thursday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving west at 21kph and packing sustained winds of 108kph and gusts of up to 136.8kph, the CWA said. Lin said that the tropical storm was about 1,710km east of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, with two possible trajectories over the next one
GET TO SAFETY: Authorities were scrambling to evacuate nearly 700 people in Hualien County to prepare for overflow from a natural dam formed by a previous typhoon Typhoon Podul yesterday intensified and accelerated as it neared Taiwan, with the impact expected to be felt overnight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, while the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration announced that schools and government offices in most areas of southern and eastern Taiwan would be closed today. The affected regions are Tainan, Kaohsiung and Chiayi City, and Yunlin, Chiayi, Pingtung, Hualien and Taitung counties, as well as the outlying Penghu County. As of 10pm last night, the storm was about 370km east-southeast of Taitung County, moving west-northwest at 27kph, CWA data showed. With a radius of 120km, Podul is carrying maximum sustained
RSS