The Executive Yuan is working to finalize proposed amendments relating to President William Lai’s (賴清德) 17 national security strategies, sources said on Sunday.
Lai on March 13 announced the strategies to counter growing infiltration efforts against Taiwan, from reinstating the military court system to enhancing scrutiny of immigrants from China, Hong Kong and Macau.
To fortify the legal frameworks to support the measures, the Executive Yuan has since last month convened several cross-ministerial meetings and plans to propose amendments to 11 bills, as well as 75 new initiatives and 17 government programs.
Photo: I-Hwa Cheng, Bloomberg
Among the measures and administrative orders that could be implemented immediately without needing to go through legislative procedures is a requirement that religious organizations visiting China register their information and the nature of their program with the government, sources said.
They also include requiring Chinese spouses to renounce their Chinese household registration to maintain their Taiwan residency status.
Administrative orders would also implement checks on Taiwanese entertainers working in China who denigrate the sovereignty of Taiwan or voice support for hostile military action by China. The orders would also require a comprehensive review on the status of military and civil service personnel, as well as civil servants, education sector, who are believed to have Chinese residency and a Chinese ID card.
Proposed amendments to the Criminal Code of the Armed Forces (陸海空軍刑法), the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (台灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例) and the Military Trial Act (軍事審判法) would seek to raise penalties on military officers found to have engaged in espionage, passed on classified materials or sworn allegiance to an enemy state, the sources said.
To counter Chinese propaganda, the Ministry of Education has been working on new education materials to stress Taiwan’s national identity, and to better address China’s military intimidation of the nation, they said, adding that the texts are to be completed by the end of summer break.
The Cabinet would also introduce measures to check the backgrounds of aides and staff working at all levels of government to prevent foreign infiltration. The level of vetting would depend on the staff member’s job level or access to classified materials.
The checks would expand to include the vetting of first secretary and chief of staff ranks, as well as higher levels of ministries, the sources said.
The vetting would also include government contractors who have been in the same position for three years, as well as civil servants at the 10th level or lower rank, who would need approval from their supervisors to travel to China.
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck off the coast of Hualien County in eastern Taiwan at 7pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter of the temblor was at sea, about 69.9km south of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 30.9km, it said. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake’s intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County’s Changbin Township (長濱), where it measured 5 on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 4 in Hualien, Nantou, Chiayi, Yunlin, Changhua and Miaoli counties, as well as
Credit departments of farmers’ and fishers’ associations blocked a total of more than NT$180 million (US$6.01 million) from being lost to scams last year, National Police Agency (NPA) data showed. The Agricultural Finance Agency (AFA) said last week that staff of farmers’ and fishers’ associations’ credit departments are required to implement fraud prevention measures when they serve clients at the counter. They would ask clients about personal financial management activities whenever they suspect there might be a fraud situation, and would immediately report the incident to local authorities, which would send police officers to the site to help, it said. NPA data showed
ENERGY RESILIENCE: Although Alaska is open for investments, Taiwan is sourcing its gas from the Middle East, and the sea routes carry risks, Ho Cheng-hui said US government officials’ high-profile reception of a Taiwanese representative at the Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference indicated the emergence of an Indo-Pacific energy resilience alliance, an academic said. Presidential Office Secretary-General Pan Men-an (潘孟安) attended the conference in Alaska on Thursday last week at the invitation of the US government. Pan visited oil and gas facilities with senior US officials, including US Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy and US Senator Daniel Sullivan. Pan attending the conference on behalf of President William Lai (賴清德) shows a significant elevation in diplomatic representation,
The Taipei MRT is to begin accepting mobile payment services in the fall, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp said on Saturday. When the company finishes the installation of new payment units at ticketing gates in October, MRT passengers can use credit cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay, the operator said. In addition, the MRT would also provide QR payment codes — which would be compatible with Line Pay, Jkopay, iPass Money, PXPay Plus, EasyWallet, iCash Pay, Taiwan Pay and Taishin Pay — to access the railway system. Currently, passengers can access the Taipei MRT by buying a single-journey token or using EasyCard,
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