The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) have proposed amendments to toughen penalties for those who breach the Communicable Disease Control Act (傳染病防治法).
The DPP version, sponsored by DPP Legislator Wang Ting-yu (王定宇), aims to amend Articles 62 and 69 of the act.
The proposed amendments state that people who are aware they are infected with a category one communicable disease (smallpox or a SARS-like disease), a category five disease (SARS, influenza type A, Ebola) or a category two multidrug-resistant disease (tuberculosis) and infect others because they did not comply with instructions from competent authorities would face up to three years in prison, as well as a fine of NT$300,000 to NT$3 million (US$9,900 to US$99,003).
Screen grab from Wang Ting-yu’s Facebook account
People who fail to tell Centers for Disease Control (CDC) agents that they have any of these diseases upon entry into the country would face up to a year in prison, as well as a fine of NT$100,000 to NT$1.5 million.
The KMT proposal, sponsored by KMT Legislator Sufin Siluko, says that people known or suspected to have these diseases who fail to comply with instructions from competent authorities would be handed a fine of NT$30,000 to NT$500,000, regardless of whether they have infected others.
Should noncompliance cause someone’s death, the patient or suspected patient should be sentenced to seven years to life in prison, the KMT draft says.
If noncompliance causes severe injury to others, the perpetrator should be imprisoned for three to 10 years and fined a maximum of NT$1 million, it says.
People who attempt to spread rumors or unverified information regarding category five diseases should be sentenced to a maximum of three years in prison and fined a maximum of NT$3 million, it says.
People suspected of being infected with a category five disease who fail to comply with competent authorities regarding examinations, inspections and medication would face fines of NT$200,000 to NT$1 million, while those seeking to avoid, or obstruct, disease prevention efforts should be fined NT$30,000 to NT$500,000, the KMT draft says.
Failure to mitigate conditions or comply with regulations within the given time could see the person fined per repeat offense, the KMT said.
Both proposals have passed a first reading and are being reviewed by the Legislative Yuan’s Social Welfare and Environmental Hygiene Committee.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
RSS