The greatest threat to national security is the legislature, as lawmakers have the greatest access to confidential material with the fewest safeguards, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Wang Ting-yu (王定宇) said, calling for greater security protections through legislation.
DPP lawmakers including Wang are pushing for amendments to national security laws in the new legislative session.
“The Legislative Yuan itself is the biggest” weak point for national security, DPP Legislator Wang Ting-yu (王定宇) said in a recent interview about his concerns for the upcoming session.
Photo: Chen Yi-kuan, Taipei Times
Legislators have access to sensitive information, yet are subject to few restrictions, a major loophole that needs closing, he said.
Compared with European nations or the US, Taiwan lacks strict standards when it comes to lawmakers’ behavior, he added.
Regarding donations through social media platforms, Wang said that although laws prohibit legislators from accepting funds from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), it is impossible to verify where money comes from if it is routed through an online service such as YouTube.
The legislature could require that all donations over a certain amount be reported, or the questions of who and where such funds are coming from would remain unknown, he said.
The Political Donations Act (政治獻金法) needs to be amended, as there are still too many ways for foreign funds to enter Taiwan, DPP Legislator Puma Shen (沈伯洋) said, but added that bipartisan consensus on the issue would be difficult to reach.
Wang also voiced concerns over people wearing Chinese People’s Liberation Army uniforms and pledging allegiance to China, saying that lawmakers should clarify penalties for doing so.
On the issue of legislators traveling to China, Shen’s 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) have been blocked by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) 30 times, he said.
Nobody knows what lawmakers discuss when they go to China or meet with CCP officials in other locations, he said.
The KMT and TPP nominating Chinese immigrants to serve as lawmakers merits immediate legislative regulation, Shen said, adding that China’s “gray zone” warfare tactics might also require legislative changes to address.
Too many Taiwanese have close ties to China, and the scope of what is legally considered treason is too narrow, he said.
“What I now fear the most is [KMT caucus whip] Fu Kun-chi (傅?萁) bringing half of their lawmakers to China saying they want to sign a peace agreement. That would be the end of Taiwan,” Shen said.
He also cited maritime regulations as an area in which increasing criminal punishments might not be an effective solution, saying that the government could expand enforcement to allow the coast guard more authority to detain ships.
However, as long as the KMT and TPP maintain their majority, it would be difficult to pass such amendments, Wang said.
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