The Taiwan Statebuilding Party, alongside Kuma Academy chief executive officer Ho Cheng-hui (何澄輝) and international law expert Sung Cheng-en (宋承恩), yesterday urged the Legislative Yuan to begin reviewing a proposed foreign influence transparency law to prevent Chinese infiltration.
Taiwanese should not tolerate the legislature’s indolence, party Chairman Wang Hsing-huan (王興煥) said.
The ruling and opposition parties are passive regarding efforts to mitigate the influence of Chinese “united front” rhetoric, said Wu Hsin-tai (吳欣岱), director of the Taiwan Statebuilding Party’s Taipei chapter.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
Chinese infiltration must be funded, and the legal instrument to reveal such sources is still “frozen” in legislative processes, Wang said.
Wang accused Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party legislators of blocking the act, adding that the Democratic Progressive Party, which has a legislative majority, is turning a blind eye because it has to rely on the support of Taiwanese businesspeople in China.
If Taiwan does not have defenses against infiltration, China would have virtually no opposition in “buying out” Taiwan, Wang said.
The US, Australia and the UK have regulations and laws that mandate the registration of foreign agents with their respective governments, while Canada is also mulling similar legislation, Wu said.
Taiwan is lagging in similar legislative efforts, and amendments to the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), the Criminal Code, the National Security Act (國家安全法), the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法) and the National Intelligence Services Act (國家情報工作法) have been insufficient, Wu said.
The average prison sentence for Chinese spies is 18 months, with most allowed to post bail or have their sentence delayed, Wu said, adding that such leniency encourages others to spy for China.
Ho said that establishing legislation to register foreign agents would be a warning system for democracies.
If one does not uphold the democratic system, it is difficult to safeguard even greater values, such as justice and fairness, Ho added.
Not Only Taiwan is subject to Chinese infiltration, Sung said, adding that the international community is jointly facing the issue of China using its influence and wealth to foment strife and discord in free and open societies.
The draft act only covers the essential facets, and Chinese infiltration and “united front” rhetoric are far more sophisticated, Sung said, adding that the draft is sufficient to cover many deficiencies in the national security act.
If passed, Sung said that the bill would not automatically consider all Taiwanese businesspeople agents of China, as they would only become suspects if they receive money and have a systematic way of reporting to Chinese agents.
LEVERAGE: China did not ‘need to fire a shot’ to deny Taiwan airspace over Africa when it owns ‘half the continent’s debt,’ a US official said, calling it economic warfare The EU has raised concerns about overflight rights following the delay of President William Lai’s (賴清德) planned state visit to the Kingdom of Eswatini after three African nations denied overflight clearance for his charter at the last minute. Taiwanese allies Paraguay and Saint Kitts and Nevis, as well as several US lawmakers and the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) condemned China for allegedly pressuring the countries. Lai was scheduled to fly directly to Taiwan’s only African ally from yesterday to Sunday to celebrate the 40th anniversary of King Mswati III’s accession and his 58th birthday, but Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar suddenly revoked
PROVOCATIVE: Chinese Deputy Ambassador to the UN Sun Lei accused Japan of sending military vessels to deliberately provoke tensions in the Taiwan Strait China denounced remarks by Japan and the EU about the South China Sea at a UN Security Council meeting on Monday, and accused Tokyo of provocative behavior in the Taiwan Strait and planning military expansion. Ayano Kunimitsu, a Japanese vice foreign minister, told the Council meeting on maritime security that Tokyo was seriously concerned about the situation in the East China and South China seas, and reiterated Japan’s opposition to any attempt to change the “status quo” by force, and obstruction of freedom of navigation and overflight. Stavros Lambrinidis, head of the EU delegation to the UN, also highlighted South China Sea
The final batch of 28 M1A2T Abrams tanks purchased from the US arrived at Taipei Port last night and were transported to the Armor Training Command in Hsinchu County’s Hukou Township (湖口), completing the military’s multi-year procurement of 108 of the tanks. Starting at 12:10am today, reporters observed more than a dozen civilian flatbed trailers departing from Taipei Port, each carrying an M1A2T tank covered with black waterproof tarps. Escorted by military vehicles, the convoy traveled via the West Coast Expressway to the Armor Training Command, with police implementing traffic control. The army operates about 1,000 tanks, including CM-11 Brave Tiger
China on Wednesday teased in a video an aircraft carrier that could be its fourth, and the first using nuclear power, while making an allusion to Taiwan and vowing to further build up its islands, as it looks to boost maritime power, secure resources and bolster territorial claims. The video, issued on the eve of the 77th founding anniversary of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy, featured fictional officers with names that are homophones of three commissioned aircraft carriers, the Liaoning (遼寧), Shandong (山東) and Fujian (福建). Titled Into the Deep, it showed a 19-year-old named “Hejian” (何劍) joining the group, sparking
RSS