A Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislator yesterday said he has submitted a bill that would stipulate penalties for certain espionage-related activities.
The National Security Act (國家安全法) does not stipulate penalties for participating in organizational activities on behalf of a foreign power, or the recruitment of people for such activities, DPP Legislator Wang Ting-yu (王定宇) said.
The bill would apply in situations such as the case of former army colonel Hsiang Te-en (向德恩) who was last year sentenced to seven years and six months in prison by the Kaohsiung District Court for accepting NT$560,000 in bribes from Chinese sources to work as a spy, Wang said.
Photo: Reuters
Hsiang had also signed a letter of surrender with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), posing in a photograph with the document in military attire and pledging assistance, to the best of his abilities, in the event of an invasion.
Hsiang received a relatively lenient sentence because current laws do not stipulate penalties for contraventions such as pledging allegiance to an enemy and cooperating with an enemy in “united front” operations, Wang said.
“Hsiang’s case has ignited concerns at all levels about how the government should respond to Chinese infiltration,” he said.
In February last year, the Ministry of Justice invited the National Security Bureau, the Mainland Affairs Council, the Investigation Bureau and local prosecutors’ offices to discuss the matter, he said.
“Most of the officials who attended the discussion expressed their belief that to maintain national security, it must be illegal for even former military personnel to pledge allegiance to the CCP,” he said.
Article 2 of the National Security Act only prohibits “initiating, funding, hosting, manipulating, directing or developing an organization” for hostile foreign forces.
The bill would add participating in organizational activities to the act, he said.
The article also stipulates that those found “disclosing, delivering or transmitting confidential documents” may be sentenced to one to seven years imprisonment, while those found “collecting confidential documents” through espionage may be sentenced to between six months and five years.
The amendment would increase those sentences, because such acts could threaten the safety of national security personnel or the execution of their missions, or could result in the arrest of intelligence personnel, confiscation of property or destruction of facilities, which would harm national interests, he said.
The amendments would apply to military personnel or civil servants who use their authority to develop organizations on behalf of hostile foreign forces, he said.
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