The Executive Yuan yesterday approved 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) that would require legislators to obtain approval before traveling to China.
Under the draft amendments, civil servants ranked below “grade 10” who are not involved in classified work would be required to obtain approval from their agencies before traveling to China.
Legislators and personnel who are aware of or possess state secrets would be required to obtain approval from a joint review committee composed of members from the Ministry of the Interior, the National Security Bureau, the Ministry of Justice, the Mainland Affairs Council and other agencies.
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The amendments also mandate elected public officials to publicly disclose all contact with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), or the Chinese government, military, administrative or other politically affiliated agencies during their trips.
Upon returning to Taiwan, they must submit the details of their contacts, including the time, location, purpose and content of the meeting, to the authorities, which would then publicly disclose the information.
Meanwhile, those who previously held certain positions would be prohibited from attending Chinese government or military ceremonies, activities that undermine national dignity and events organized by CCP entities that advocate eliminating or downgrading Taiwanese sovereignty.
People who handle classified information, or who learn of, possess or safeguard state secrets would face fines ranging from NT$2 million to NT$10 million (US$63,583 to US$317,914) for unauthorized travel to China, in accordance with the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法).
The changes aim to counter the CCP’s intensified “united front” efforts and infiltration targeting Taiwan, thereby safeguarding national security and stability, the Cabinet said.
Existing regulations on public servants’ travel to China are insufficient, especially for those involved in national security or who have access to classified information, it said.
Contacts between elected public officials and China also lack transparency, limiting public oversight, it added.
The proposed amendments are to be submitted to the Legislative Yuan for deliberation.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Chen Yu-jen (陳玉珍) yesterday asked whether the government has already made up its mind and wanted to go to war, and added that only more communication could bring about goodwill.
“What we need to do is engage in more exchanges and better understanding, so we can know what the government and the people on the other side of the Strait are thinking,” she said. “By understanding their public opinion, we can also influence the overall social atmosphere.”
The ruling party should focus more on people’s livelihoods and do things that benefit the nation and the people, and less on ideological matters, she added.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Puma Shen (沈伯洋) said lawmakers are the highest risk, as they are easily exposed to state secrets, as well as local leaders, adding that they could easily travel to China without scrutiny.
It is impossible to know how many times a legislator visits China or who they meet, he said.
It is not that they cannot go, but there needs to be transparency, so that they could be accountable to the public, Shen said, adding that current regulations apply to government officials, but when the law was enacted, it did not include elected representatives, which is a legal oversight.
Additional reporting by Lin Hsin-han and Chen Cheng-yu
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