New regulations governing international travel for Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology personnel would take effect “in the coming days,” a source said on Sunday.
Created by the Ministry of National Defense to protect national secrets, the regulations would apply to personnel at various levels of seniority — including conscripts performing alternative service at the institute — and would require those planning to travel outside the nation to first obtain permission from a level-one supervisor, the source said.
The institute president, vice president or supervisors of units under the board of directors would need permission to travel from the minister of national defense, the source said.
Supervisors and directors who need to travel abroad on business related to the institute would need permission from the institute’s chairman of the board, and level-one supervisors would need permission from the institute president, the source added.
Institute employees would be prohibited from traveling to, or transiting through, China, the source said, adding that border officials would share the employees’ travel data with the National Immigration Agency and the military.
Officials deem the regulations necessary to promote national defense, which were bolstered by the passage on Wednesday of a special budget of NT$237.3 billion (US$8.6 billion) for the procurement of defensive weapons systems, the source said.
The majority of weapons in the Executive Yuan’s procurement plan for the special budget are anti-ship and anti-air missile systems being developed by the institute, the source added.
Employees affected by the regulations include directors and supervisors, advisory members, consultants, the president and vice president, and their military personnel, civil servants, hired personnel and alternative-service conscripts, the source said.
The regulations would also apply to former institute personnel who have had access to state secrets, and would apply for three years following retirement, the source said, adding that the regulations would affect more than 10,000 people.
High-level government officials leaving the nation would also need to inform the ministry’s Political Warfare Bureau, Armaments Bureau and other agencies, the source said.
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