Twenty-one lawmakers have proposed amendments to the National Security Act (國家安全法) and National Intelligence Service Act (國家情報工作法), seeking to redefine the scope of classified information and impose heavier sanctions on those leaking it to hostile nations.
The amendments, proposed by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) and 20 other lawmakers, are designed to deter people from leaking confidential information by severely punishing offenders.
On average, offenders are sentenced to only six months in prison, even if the cases against them were backed up by solid evidence, the lawmakers said.
Photo: Reuters
Such an inconsequential penalty only emboldens those who intend to leak confidential information to China and would compromise national security, they said.
The proposed amendment to the National Intelligence Service Act would require that those accused of security breaches be tried in a special court presided over by judges with expertise in national security, the lawmakers said.
Judges at this court would have to complete on-the-job training every year, and the Judicial Yuan would be authorized to prescribe the minimum number of hours of training needed, they said.
The amendment to Article 2 of the National Security Act would expand the definition of confidential documents from those that are only for official use to those involving national security and the public interest, the lawmakers said.
People who disclose, deliver or transmit confidential documents to China or another hostile nation would be sentenced to three to 10 years in prison and fined up to NT$30 million (US$949,187), they said, adding that the current penalty is one to seven years in prison and a fine of up to NT$10 million.
In other news, the legislature’s Internal Administration Committee is scheduled to hold a meeting today to hear a presentation from Ocean Affairs Council Minister Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) about the coast guard’s pursuit of a Chinese boat, which led to the vessel capsizing, causing the deaths of two Chinese.
Lawmakers have taken issue with the council unilaterally changing the committee’s title for the presentation from “Kinmen boat ramming case” to “Incident in cracking down on Chinese speedboat.”
DPP caucus secretary-general Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) yesterday said that the wording of the committee’s original title harbored a pre-determined stance that naturally invited discussion.
She added that her caucus has issued a “top mobilization” order requiring party members to attend the meeting today.
Additional reporting by Hsieh Chun-lin
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