Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Puma Shen (沈伯洋) and other lawmakers have proposed amendments to the Criminal Code defining four crimes of collusion with foreign powers.
As collusion, which is currently not well-defined under the law, carries a severe penalty, judges tend not to invoke it, Shen said.
After consulting with the National Security Bureau, he and other DPP members have proposed defining four types of criminal behavior that would fall under the category of collusion.
Photo: Reuters
They are publicly declaring or recognizing the right of a foreign power to exercise rule over the Republic of China (ROC); failing to perform one’s official duties as a civil servant of the ROC or committing acts that contravene those duties at the request of a foreign power; assisting a foreign power in attempting to exercise authority over the sovereign territory of the ROC; and endorsing the claims of a foreign power of sovereignty over the territory of the ROC, whether through participation in meetings, signing of petitions or other means.
The draft also sets out hierarchical penalties for different targets, mainly civil servants.
Highest in the hierarchy is the president and vice president, followed by elected public officials; heads and deputy heads of agencies; high-ranking members of the Executive Yuan; justices, examination committee members and members of supervisory committees; and diplomats.
The hierarchy also includes noncommissioned officers and other military personnel, heads of political parties, police officers, Coast Guard Administration personnel, customs officers, firefighters, civil defense committee members, and those in charge of the operations of critical infrastructure, among others.
Civil servants found guilty of collusion could receive up to life imprisonment, while non-public servants would face fixed prison terms of one to seven years, Shen said.
Not all actions perceived as “united front” activity would be punishable under the amendment, he said.
“There are many artists in Taiwan this year who have made pro-China statements, but those artists operate in a free market after all, and it is their personal freedom to pursue opportunities in China,” he said.
However, professors or government officials making such statements are at higher risk of facing legal consequences, he said.
Lawmakers are concerned that current laws encompass a gray area, which China would take advantage of, he said, adding that further revisions would be likely.
Separately, DPP Legislator Chiu Chih-wei (邱志偉) has proposed an amendment to Article 8 of the Anti-Infiltration Act (反滲透法), which would call for the Constitutional Court to rule on the dissolution of a political party in the event that the party or its key members commit acts that contravene the Constitution, disrupt social order or affect national security.
Japan has deployed long-range missiles in a southwestern region near China, the Japanese defense minister said yesterday, at a time when ties with Beijing are at their lowest in recent years. The missiles were installed in Kumamoto in the southern region of Kyushu, as Japan is attempting to shore up its military capacity as China steps up naval activity in the East China Sea. “Standoff defense capabilities enable us to counter the threat of enemy forces attempting to invade our country ... while ensuring the safety of our personnel,” Japanese Minister of Defense Shinjiro Koizumi said. “This is an extremely important initiative for
The nation’s fastest supercomputer, Nano 4 (晶創26), is scheduled to be launched in the third quarter, and would be used to train large language models in finance and national defense sectors, the National Center for High-Performance Computing (NCHC) said. The supercomputer, which would operate at about 86.05 petaflops, is being tested at a new cloud computing center in the Southern Taiwan Science Park in Tainan. The exterior of the server cabinet features chip circuitry patterns overlaid with a map of Taiwan, highlighting the nation’s central position in the semiconductor industry. The center also houses Taiwania 2, Taiwania 3, Forerunner 1 and
MORE POPULAR: Taiwan Pass sales increased by 59 percent during the first quarter compared with the same period last year, the Tourism Administration said The Tourism Administration yesterday said that it has streamlined the Taiwan Pass, with two versions available for purchase beginning today. The tourism agency has made the pass available to international tourists since 2024, allowing them to access the high-speed rail, Taiwan Railway Corp services, four MRT systems and four Taiwan Tourist Shuttles. Previously, five types of Taiwan Pass were available, but some tourists have said that the offerings were too complicated. The agency said only two types of Taiwan Pass would be available, starting from a three-day pass with the high-speed rail and a three-day pass with Taiwan Railway Corp. The former costs NT$2,800
FIRST TRIAL: Ko’s lawyers sought reduced bail and other concessions, as did other defendants, but the bail judge denied their requests, citing the severity of the sentences Former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) was yesterday sentenced to 17 years in prison and had his civil rights suspended for six years over corruption, embezzlement and other charges. Taipei prosecutors in December last year asked the Taipei District Court for a combined 28-year, six-month sentence for the four cases against Ko, who founded the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP). The cases were linked to the Core Pacific City (京華城購物中心) redevelopment project and the mismanagement of political donations. Other defendants convicted on separate charges included Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Taipei City Councilor Angela Ying (應曉薇), who was handed a 15-year, six-month sentence; Core Pacific
RSS