The Anti-infiltration Act (反滲透法) is not stringent enough to deter people from aiding foreign forces attempting to infiltrate Taiwan, Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Kuo Kuo-wen (郭國文) said yesterday as he proposed an amendment to better safeguard national security.
As the act focuses on offenses during an election or when large crowds gather, but not individual attacks, some Taiwanese accomplices of foreign forces can only be held accountable under the Criminal Code, which does not stipulate adequate punishment to deter infiltration efforts, Kuo told a news conference in Taipei, citing cases in which Taiwanese allegedly operating at the behest of Beijing attacked Hong Kongers in Taiwan.
Democracy advocate Joshua Wong (黃之鋒) was attacked in 2017, while red paint was thrown on singer Denise Ho (何韻詩) and former Hong Kong Causeway Bay Books manager Lam Wing-kei (林榮基) last year and last month respectively, he said.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
The recurrence of violent acts in the nation show that the legal consequences for such behavior are too lenient, putting people’s personal safety at risk, he added.
Article 6 of the act — which lists the types of crimes subject to increased penalties when committed under the influence of infiltration sources — should be amended to include the parts of the Criminal Code covering murder, intimidation and harming others, as well as cybersecurity offenses, Kuo said.
Lam, who also attended the news conference, said that “unfortunately, the act is not complete,” which is why those who attacked him, Wong and Ho were released shortly after their crimes on human rights grounds.
“How about the human rights of the people who were attacked?” Lam asked.
Hong Kong Outlanders spokesman Kuma Yung said that the attacks remind people that they cannot assume that they are completely safe just because they are in Taiwan.
Although the attacks targeted public figures, it does not mean that members of the general public are not exposed to threats and the infringement of their human rights by foreign forces, Yung said.
Passage of the amendment would truly enhance the security and rights of Hong Kong pro-democracy activists when they visit Taiwan, Kuo said.
Additional reporting by CNA
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