Lawmakers yesterday voted to schedule a Dec. 31 review of an anti-infiltration bill proposed by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).
At a meeting of the Legislative Yuan’s Procedure Committee, the DPP caucus filed a motion to schedule the review for Dec. 31, which was put to a vote after objections by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers. The motion passed 9-2.
The DPP’s proposed bill last month advanced to a second reading and additional cross-caucus discussions.
The legislation calls for those who disrupt social order under the command or at the behest of “infiltration sources” to face a prison term of up to seven years or a fine of NT$5 million (US$165,508).
The 12-article bill would prohibit donations to political parties, influencing elections, proposing the recall of a government official or launching a referendum on the instructions or with the financial support of an infiltration source.
The legislature is today to enter a recess until Dec. 30 and call one legislative meeting on Dec. 31 to review the bill.
An extraordinary session could be held after the Jan. 11 presidential and legislative elections to review the general budget for the upcoming fiscal year, DPP caucus director-general Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) said.
Lawmakers yesterday also approved an amendment to the Organization Act of the National Security Bureau (國家安全局組織法) stipulating that the bureau’s budget must be listed under other government agencies and reviewed by the legislature.
Relevant agencies should list the bureau’s budgetary items in the form of a black budget, the amendment says.
The Executive Yuan, which sponsored the amendment, said that other nations or hostile forces could discern the plans of the intelligence agency by obtaining information on its budget.
To keep the bureau’s work safe from undue interference and protect the safety of intelligence personnel, the bureau’s budgetary items should be listed under other agencies, which would be conducive to safeguarding classified information and reduce risks of intelligence being gathered by external forces, the Cabinet said.
Twenty-four Republican members of the US House of Representatives yesterday introduced a concurrent resolution calling on the US government to abolish the “one China” policy and restore formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Led by US representatives Tom Tiffany and Scott Perry, the resolution calls for not only re-establishing formal relations, but also urges the US Trade Representative to negotiate a free-trade agreement (FTA) with Taiwan and for US officials to advocate for Taiwan’s full membership in the UN and other international organizations. In a news release announcing the resolution, Tiffany, who represents a Wisconsin district, called the “one China” policy “outdated, counterproductive
Actress Barbie Hsu (徐熙媛) has “returned home” to Taiwan, and there are no plans to hold a funeral for the TV star who died in Japan from influenza- induced pneumonia, her family said in a statement Wednesday night. The statement was released after local media outlets reported that Barbie Hsu’s ashes were brought back Taiwan on board a private jet, which arrived at Taipei Songshan Airport around 3 p.m. on Wednesday. To the reporters waiting at the airport, the statement issued by the family read “[we] appreciate friends working in the media for waiting in the cold weather.” “She has safely returned home.
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