An amendment to the Political Archives Act (政治檔案條例) proposed by Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Fan Yun (范雲) would allow more files related to the White Terror era to be declassified if the proposal is passed.
The National Development Council’s National Archives Administration has gathered files on political persecution cases on seven separate occasions since 2000, and has uncovered thousands more files each time, Fan said.
“It’s a bottomless pit. So far, more than 77,000 files have been identified and it is still unknown how many are left to find,” she said.
However, since the agencies that produced most of the files, such as the National Security Bureau and the Ministry of Justice’s Investigation Bureau, categorize files from the White Terror era and those from current investigations in the same way, most files remain classified, she said.
The documents are typically kept sealed under the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), or they are transferred to the National Archives Administration, but kept partially restricted for 50 years under the Political Archives Act and the National Intelligence Services Act (國家情報工作法), she said.
“Of those 77,000 cases, 72,000 are restricted and some of their content obscured,” she said.
The restrictions could be due to concerns over personal privacy, or the risk of affecting national security or foreign relations, but the agencies do not provide specific explanations, she said.
Fan, who was a victim of political persecution during the White Terror era, last year applied for access to the files concerning her, but 31 of the 34 files had some information redacted or obscured, she said.
The incident motivated her to propose an amendment to the Political Archives Act, she said, adding that the proposal calls for four key changes:
She said that all permanently classified files should be declassified; all government personnel involved in the oppression of others’ rights should be named; specific reasons should be given for any files that must remain classified or restricted; and the review of disputed files must be improved, with an independent review committee appointed to the task.
Alongside declassifying documents naming those involved in rights abuses, the government should also require those running for political office to voluntarily disclose any such involvement, which is the practice in other countries, Fan said.
It would also be an opportunity for such people to explain and defend themselves, and to describe how their attitude toward human rights has changed, she said.
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
CHANGES: After-school tutoring periods, extracurricular activities during vacations or after-school study periods must not be used to teach new material, the ministry said The Ministry of Education yesterday announced new rules that would ban giving tests to most elementary and junior-high school students during morning study and afternoon rest periods. The amendments to regulations governing public education at elementary schools and junior high schools are to be implemented on Aug. 1. The revised rules stipulate that schools are forbidden to use after-school tutoring periods, extracurricular activities during summer or winter vacation or after-school study periods to teach new course material. In addition, schools would be prohibited from giving tests or exams to students in grades one to eight during morning study and afternoon break periods, the
AMENDMENT: Contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau must be reported, and failure to comply could result in a prison sentence, the proposal stated The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) yesterday voted against a proposed bill by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers that would require elected officials to seek approval before visiting China. DPP Legislator Puma Shen’s (沈伯洋) proposed amendments 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), stipulate that contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau should be reported, while failure to comply would be punishable by prison sentences of up to three years, alongside a fine of NT$10 million (US$309,041). Fifty-six voted with the TPP in opposition