An attorney on Sunday spoke out in support of two bills aimed at limiting the influence of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) proxies, as the Mainland Affairs Council said that the bills are still subject to public feedback.
Democratic Progressive Party and New Power Party lawmakers last year pushed for the passage of a draft “hostile foreign influence transparency act” and an amendment to 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) to target individuals or groups acting under the direction of “infiltration sources.”
Under the draft foreign influence act, any individual or organization that is under the influence of a hostile foreign power or has otherwise made an agreement with a hostile foreign power would be required to register with the Ministry of Justice.
In addition to voluntary applicants, the ministry would also order agents to register if they are found to fit the criteria and intentionally attempt to influence elections, referendums, political party operations or other affairs.
Those who fail to do so would face a fine of NT$100,000 to NT$500,000 (US$3,507 to US$17,533), which could be issued consecutively.
The amendment would revise Article 31-1 of the cross-strait relations act to prohibit individuals and organizations from engaging in any employment, appointment, contract or service relationship with any Chinese political or military organization, as well as any relationship in which they are subject to commands, requests, instruction or other forms of control, or receive compensation under a mutual agreement.
It would also restrict individuals and organizations from engaging in activities on behalf of a Chinese political or military organization, or its proxies.
Such activities would include political activities or propaganda, conferences organized by or in collaboration with proxies, and statements that threaten national security.
Contraventions would be punishable by a prison sentence of no more than five years and a fine of up to NT$1 million.
“The US and Australia have both have passed laws; Taiwan has no reason not to pass one too,” said attorney Huang Di-ying (黃帝穎), who also serves as director of the Taiwan Forever Association, a non-governmental organization comprised of legal professionals promoting the sustainable development of Taiwan’s democracy.
The Anti-infiltration Act (反滲透法) passed in January criminalizes acceptance of CCP aid in elections, referendums and related activities, but it does not cover “united front” funding that flows into the media, local temples, academic groups and other organizations, he said.
Therefore, it is crucial to pass the hostile foreign influence law and amend the cross-strait relations act, he said.
In response to criticism that the registration requirement would “legalize” CCP proxies, Huang said that the changes would help expose them.
The transparency law employs the same logic as the Money Laundering Control Act (洗錢防制法), he said, adding that if someone accepts CCP funds, it is still illegal.
“It does not mean it is legalized on the spot,” and similarly, a CCP proxy would not be pardoned once they are registered, Huang said.
The council said that the government last year passed amendments to five national security laws to strengthen the nation’s defenses against hostile infiltration.
It added that it would continue to revise related laws and regulations as needed.
As for debate over the “Chinese proxy” bills, the council said that it is paying close attention to the matter.
As the bills move through the legislature, public opinion would be considered and a public consensus reached before discussions continue, it added.
A group of Taiwanese-American and Tibetan-American students at Harvard University on Saturday disrupted Chinese Ambassador to the US Xie Feng’s (謝鋒) speech at the school, accusing him of being responsible for numerous human rights violations. Four students — two Taiwanese Americans and two from Tibet — held up banners inside a conference hall where Xie was delivering a speech at the opening ceremony of the Harvard Kennedy School China Conference 2024. In a video clip provided by the Coalition of Students Resisting the CCP (Chinese Communist Party), Taiwanese-American Cosette Wu (吳亭樺) and Tibetan-American Tsering Yangchen are seen holding banners that together read:
UNAWARE: Many people sit for long hours every day and eat unhealthy foods, putting them at greater risk of developing one of the ‘three highs,’ an expert said More than 30 percent of adults aged 40 or older who underwent a government-funded health exam were unaware they had at least one of the “three highs” — high blood pressure, high blood lipids or high blood sugar, the Health Promotion Administration (HPA) said yesterday. Among adults aged 40 or older who said they did not have any of the “three highs” before taking the health exam, more than 30 percent were found to have at least one of them, Adult Preventive Health Examination Service data from 2022 showed. People with long-term medical conditions such as hypertension or diabetes usually do not
POLICE INVESTIGATING: A man said he quit his job as a nurse at Taipei Tzu Chi Hospital as he had been ‘disgusted’ by the behavior of his colleagues A man yesterday morning wrote online that he had witnessed nurses taking photographs and touching anesthetized patients inappropriately in Taipei Tzu Chi Hospital’s operating theaters. The man surnamed Huang (黃) wrote on the Professional Technology Temple bulletin board that during his six-month stint as a nurse at the hospital, he had seen nurses taking pictures of patients, including of their private parts, after they were anesthetized. Some nurses had also touched patients inappropriately and children were among those photographed, he said. Huang said this “disgusted” him “so much” that “he felt the need to reveal these unethical acts in the operating theater
Heat advisories were in effect for nine administrative regions yesterday afternoon as warm southwesterly winds pushed temperatures above 38°C in parts of southern Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 3:30pm yesterday, Tainan’s Yujing District (玉井) had recorded the day’s highest temperature of 39.7°C, though the measurement will not be included in Taiwan’s official heat records since Yujing is an automatic rather than manually operated weather station, the CWA said. Highs recorded in other areas were 38.7°C in Kaohsiung’s Neimen District (內門), 38.2°C in Chiayi City and 38.1°C in Pingtung’s Sandimen Township (三地門), CWA data showed. The spell of scorching