Though agreeing on the need to address ethnic divisions, government officials and scholars yesterday expressed reservations about efforts to punish people for making discriminatory remarks against individual ethnic groups.
Lawmakers from across party lines have introduced a bill that would allow the government to jail violators for up to three years for such offenses, as well as impose fines of up to NT$3 million.
But attendees at a public hearing on the issue warned that the legislation would encroach on the freedom of speech guaranteed by the Constitution and increase mistrust between different groups.
"It is unrealistic to prohibit people from making speeches that may disrupt social harmony," the Judicial Yuan said in a position paper. "The endeavor, contrary to its good intention, may serve to antagonize different groups. Existing rules governing public speeches and assembly suffice."
The proposed change to the Criminal Code would subject people found guilty of openly insulting any ethnic or social group in any fashion to one year in jail and/or a fine of NT$100,000.
For government officials found guilty of the same offense, the bill suggests doubling the jail term to two years, in addition to a fine of NT$1 million. It also seeks to impose three-years' imprisonment as well as a fine of NT$3 million on leaders of public rallies whose remarks may incite violence.
A fracas erupted in front of Kaohsiung City Hall on April 19, as over 500 angry resident mainlanders and their supporters protested against a local official who blamed the influx of mainland immigrants for the city's flooding problems.
The next day, a tearful Wu Meng-te (
Michael Chang (
"It would be odd for society to condone the oppressor but prosecute the oppressed," Chang said, citing the victims of the White Terror era as an example.
"Their resentment against resident mainlanders is understandable. It is more advisable for the government to take steps to redress past wrongs."
Last year, Chin Heng-wei (
Chin, a resident mainlander who supports Taiwan independence, has drawn ire from the pro-unification camp. Chang said he frowned on the attack but added that any attempt to penalize the offense would be seen as a political means to restrain those who hold similar political beliefs.
Tzing Tzung-li (
He said the legislation fails to clearly define what constitutes an offensive expression.
"Should we also seek to outlaw discriminatory expressions against the poor, the physically challenged or homosexuals?" he asked. "It is better to think twice if we don't have an answer to the question."
An essay competition jointly organized by a local writing society and a publisher affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) might have contravened 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), the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said on Thursday. “In this case, the partner organization is clearly an agency under the CCP’s Fujian Provincial Committee,” MAC Deputy Minister and spokesperson Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said at a news briefing in Taipei. “It also involves bringing Taiwanese students to China with all-expenses-paid arrangements to attend award ceremonies and camps,” Liang said. Those two “characteristics” are typically sufficient
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