About 10,000 people working for the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology could face travel restrictions later this year, including a ban on travel to China, due to national security concerns.
The Legislative Yuan in May amended the Act for the Establishment of the National Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology (國家中山科學研究院設置條例) to require all of the institute’s personnel, including its president, vice president and alternative military personnel, to get a permit from the institute before traveling abroad.
The amendments stipulate that the Ministry of National Defense, which oversees the institute, should establish measures related to those restrictions, which it did on Monday last week.
The ministry is to gather opinions on the measures until Monday next week, before they take effect on a date yet to be specified.
The government in May said institute personnel regularly access classified information and should be subject to travel restrictions similar to defense ministry and national security agency personnel to uphold national security.
The institute is the nation’s key entity dedicated to defense technology research and development, and has become more important as Taiwan invests heavily in building defense capabilities to counter threats from China.
According to the proposed measures, institute employees would be barred from visiting or transiting through China, Hong Kong and Macau unless they have a special permit.
Details were also provided on how the travel permit application process should be implemented and the approval requirements.
The measures would apply to an estimated 10,000 people working for the institute, including alternative military personnel, civil servants and people legally treated as employees, as well as board directors, supervisors and consultants.
Those who leave Taiwan without approval could be punished under the Immigration Act (入出國及移民法), the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), 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) or other laws.
The institute would be held responsible for any misconduct.
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