A coalition of civic groups and lawmakers yesterday raised concerns about the security of the government’s planned electronic identification card (eID) project over links to China and demanded its implementation be delayed.
Ministry of the Interior officials have said Taipei-based Guo Ju Consultants Co won the tender for the eID project in April last year, while production of the eIDs was awarded to the state-owned Central Engraving and Printing Plant, a central bank subsidiary that prints the nation’s banknotes, passports and government-issued identification cards.
Attorney Alex Hsin (幸大智) is the registered owner of Guo Ju Consultants, but is also a senior partner with MHP Law Firm in Shanghai, Taiwan Citizen Front spokesman Chiang Min-yen (江旻諺) told a news conference in Taipei.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
Guo Ju’s Web site says Hsin earned graduate and law degrees from universities in Taiwan and the US, and a doctorate in international economic law from East China University of Political Science and Law in Shanghai.
He is also listed as having given lectures for Shanghai Jiao Tong University’s EMBA program.
Guo Ju Consultants’ connections to China should worry Taiwanese concerned about the leak of their personal data to the Chinese government, Chiang said.
As the senior partner for MHP, Hsin and the law firm must adhere to China’s Regulations Governing Law Firms, which was revised in 2016 to include in Article 3 the statement that “a law firm shall take supporting the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party and the socialist rule of law as the basic requirements for its practice,” Chiang said.
“This and other articles are the basic requirements for lawyers to practice in China, but are contrary to the principles of democracy and counter to Taiwan’s national interest,” Chiang said.
“The Chinese government could use this firm to obtain the private and personal information of Taiwanese. This would be an enormous disaster for our national security,” he said.
“China has multiple ways to infiltrate Taiwan. It does not need to apply them right away, but will wait for a crucial time. For example, it could do so when we hold elections, public referendums, or during major natural disasters. It can mobilize its agents and concealed working units to control our social and communication networks, and to launch attacks against Taiwan,” he added.
New Power Party Legislator Chiu Hsien-chih (邱顯智) also raised concerns about potential access by Beijing’s government to the personal data of Taiwanese.
“If the eID scheme goes through, then Beijing will have full access to all the personal information on each Taiwanese citizen, this is very dangerous. Interior ministry officials have yet to respond to these concerns,” Chiu said.
Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Kao Hung-an (高虹安) called on the government to conduct a more careful evaluation of the project before going ahead with it.
Attendees at the news conference called on the ministry to give people the choice of retaining their current ID cards without embedded IC chips, to enact legislation protecting the public’s rights under the scheme before it begins, and to establish an independent body charged with protecting personal data.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost