Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers have proposed an amendment to toughen penalties for military officials found guilty of treason.
Current punishments are too lenient and do not serve as a deterrent, legislators told a meeting of the Legislative Yuan’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee yesterday, citing the case of former army colonel Hsiang Te-en (向德恩).
Hsiang was found guilty of accepting bribes and signing a letter of surrender swearing allegiance to the People’s Republic of China as his “motherland.” The Kaohsiung District Court in February last year sentenced him to seven-and-a-half years in prison and ordered him to pay NT$560,000, the equivalent of what he received in bribes.
Photo: Carlos Garcia Rawlins, Reuters
DPP legislators Wang Ting-yu (王定宇), Michelle Lin (林楚茵) and Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) proposed increasing the sentences for military officials found guilty of treason from the current one to seven years in prison to three to 10 years.
In Hsiang’s case, the Ministry of National Defense initially suggested that he be tried for contravening Articles 17 and 19 of the Criminal Code of the Armed Forces (陸海空軍刑法), the legislators said.
“However, the Kaohsiung District Prosecutors’ Office, which handled the case, only tried Hsiang for the crime of corruption, for which there was clear evidence,” they said.
“China’s efforts to infiltrate Taiwan are becoming an increasingly serious problem, but espionage cases are tried too leniently, and that poses a national security risk,” they added.
Although Hsiang’s willingness to surrender to China would affect troop morale, current laws do not stipulate penalties for such acts committed during peacetime, the legislators said.
“If active-duty military personnel can freely commit such violations of their sworn loyalty to the nation, it would be difficult to prevent defection and enemy infiltration in wartime,” the legislators said.
Penalties for crimes related to aiding an enemy in the Criminal Code of the Armed Forces should be revised with reference to provisions for the crime of foreign aggression in the Criminal Code, the legislators said.
Specifically, stricter penalties should be implemented for those who “prepare or conspire to deliver military facilities or items to the enemy, engage in espionage activities for the enemy, or assist the enemy’s spies to engage in such activities,” the legislators said.
The proposed amendment would also increase prison terms to up to seven years for those who intend to destroy military facilities and items, damage or block water and land routes, give the enemy a military advantage, harm Taiwan or its allies through actions that would put their respective militaries at a disadvantage, or surrender to the enemy, the legislators said.
NEXT GENERATION: The four plants in the Central Taiwan Science Park, designated Fab 25, would consist of four 1.4-nanometer wafer manufacturing plants, TSMC said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) plans to begin construction of four new plants later this year, with the aim to officially launch production of 2-nanometer semiconductor wafers by late 2028, Central Taiwan Science Park Bureau director-general Hsu Maw-shin (許茂新) said. Hsu made the announcement at an event on Friday evening celebrating the Central Taiwan Science Park’s 22nd anniversary. The second phase of the park’s expansion would commence with the initial construction of water detention ponds and other structures aimed at soil and water conservation, Hsu said. TSMC has officially leased the land, with the Central Taiwan Science Park having handed over the
AUKUS: The Australian Ambassador to the US said his country is working with the Pentagon and he is confident that submarine issues will be resolved Australian Ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd on Friday said that if Taiwan were to fall to China’s occupation, it would unleash China’s military capacities and capabilities more broadly. He also said his country is working with the Pentagon on the US Department of Defense’s review of the AUKUS submarine project and is confident that all issues raised will be resolved. Rudd, who served as Australian prime minister from 2007 to 2010 and for three months in 2013, made the remarks at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado and stressed the longstanding US-Australia alliance and his close relationship with the US Undersecretary
‘WORLD WAR III’: Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene said the aid would inflame tensions, but her amendment was rejected 421 votes against six The US House of Representatives on Friday passed the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for fiscal 2026, which includes US$500 million for Taiwan. The bill, which totals US$831.5 billion in discretionary spending, passed in a 221-209 vote. According to the bill, the funds for Taiwan would be administered by the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency and would remain available through Sept. 30, 2027, for the Taiwan Security Cooperation Initiative. The legislation authorizes the US Secretary of Defense, with the agreement of the US Secretary of State, to use the funds to assist Taiwan in procuring defense articles and services, and military training. Republican Representative
TAIWAN IS TAIWAN: US Representative Tom Tiffany said the amendment was not controversial, as ‘Taiwan is not — nor has it ever been — part of Communist China’ The US House of Representatives on Friday passed an amendment banning the US Department of Defense from creating, buying or displaying any map that shows Taiwan as part of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The “Honest Maps” amendment was approved in a voice vote on Friday as part of the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for the 2026 fiscal year. The amendment prohibits using any funds from the act to create, buy or display maps that show Taiwan, Kinmen, Matsu, Penghu, Wuciou (烏坵), Green Island (綠島) or Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼) as part of the PRC. The act includes US$831.5 billion in
RSS