National security officials have suggested an amendment to the Anti-infiltration Act (反滲透法) that would make it illegal to share foreign political propaganda or misinformation under the instruction or assistance of a foreign power, a source said on Tuesday.
The amendment would be a small, but necessary step toward combating Chinese infiltration, which has been identified in politics, industry and the media in Taiwan, the source said, adding that this has been done through the spread of misinformation aimed at increasing Chinese influence in the country.
“For example, if China’s Taiwan Affairs Office were to call the editorial department at a Taiwanese media company and tell them to run a piece of fake news, that is a situation where such an amendment would come into play,” the source said.
The government has made progress on combating misinformation through amendments to the Disaster Prevention and Protection Act (災害防救法), the Food Administration Act (糧食管理法), the Agricultural Products Market Transaction Act (農產品市場交易法) and the Communicable Disease Control Act (傳染病防治法), the source said.
They said that amendments to the Anti-infiltration Act would allow tougher penalties to be levied against those acting under instructions from foreign powers such as the Chinese Communist Party.
However, given the scope of the amendment, a consensus on the issue should be reached across government agencies, the source said.
“The Executive Yuan should lead the way with this and seek public consensus first,” the source said.
The National Security Council has advised an amendment that would append an additional clause to Article 7 of the Anti-infiltration Act, the source said, adding that the amendment would be drafted through discussions between the Democratic Progressive Party caucus and government agencies.
Article 7 stipulates the penalty for those found influencing presidential or public-official elections.
National Chiao Tung University law professor Lin Chih-chieh (林志潔) echoed the need to amend the Anti-infiltration Act, saying that its scope is too limited.
The act should be amended to include all forms of infiltration, including those involving the media, the economy, schools, cultural activities and so on, she said.
Separately, Lo Cheng-chung (羅承宗), director of Southern Taiwan University of Science and Technology’s Institute of Financial and Economic Law, said that the act must stipulate harsh punishments for those acting violently under instructions from Beijing.
Citing attacks on Hong Kong democracy advocates in Taiwan, he said that such acts took advantage of the shortcomings of current laws to violate the rights of individuals.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong effective from 5:30pm, while local governments canceled school and work for tomorrow. A land warning is expected to be issued tomorrow morning before it is expected to make landfall on Wednesday, the agency said. Taoyuan, and well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties canceled work and school for tomorrow, as well as mountainous district of Taipei and New Taipei City. For updated information on closures, please visit the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration Web site. As of 5pm today, Fung-wong was about 490km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan's southernmost point.
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck Kaohsiung at 1pm today, the Central Weather Administration said. The epicenter was in Jiasian District (甲仙), 72.1km north-northeast of Kaohsiung City Hall, at a depth of 7.8km, agency data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effects of a temblor, was highest in Kaohsiung and Tainan, where it measured a 4 on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale. It also measured a 3 in parts of Chiayi City, as well as Pingtung, Yunlin and Hualien counties, data showed.
Nearly 5 million people have signed up to receive the government’s NT$10,000 (US$322) universal cash handout since registration opened on Wednesday last week, with deposits expected to begin tomorrow, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. After a staggered sign-up last week — based on the final digit of the applicant’s national ID or Alien Resident Certificate number — online registration is open to all eligible Taiwanese nationals, foreign permanent residents and spouses of Taiwanese nationals. Banks are expected to start issuing deposits from 6pm today, the ministry said. Those who completed registration by yesterday are expected to receive their NT$10,000 tomorrow, National Treasury
Taiwan next year plans to launch its first nationwide census on elderly people living independently to identify the estimated 700,000 seniors to strengthen community-based healthcare and long-term care services, the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) said yesterday. Minister of Health and Welfare Shih Chung-liang (石崇良) said on the sidelines of a healthcare seminar that the nation’s rapidly aging population and declining birthrate have made the issue of elderly people living alone increasingly pressing. The survey, to be jointly conducted by the MOHW and the Ministry of the Interior, aims to establish baseline data and better allocate care resources, he
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