Mon, Aug 18, 2025 page2

• Academic calls for penalty floor in espionage cases

  • By Fang Wei-li and Esme Yeh / Staff reporter, with staff writer
  • • 
    • 
    • 

  Penalties should be increased and administrative measures adopted before criminal proceedings to address Chinese infiltration cases, an academic said on Saturday.

  Concerns have mounted over the past few years over what many see as disproportionately lenient sentences for people engaged in espionage on behalf of Beijing.

  “This is not merely a judicial matter, but one that requires collective efforts by the judicial, legislative and executive branches,” said Lo Cheng-chung (羅承宗), a professor at the National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology’s Graduate Institute of Science and Technology Law.

  

  A person holds a gavel in an undated photograph.

  Photo: Taipei Times

  Lo said the government and the judiciary often misunderstand each other.

  For example, administrative authorities often view cases in which military personnel receive funding from China as serious crimes that should warrant heavy punishment, he said.

  However, judges must sentence strictly based on the facts and the law, and when evidence is insufficient, rulings tend to fall on the lenient side, he added.

  Given that existing laws prescribe maximum penalties without a minimum threshold, many offenders have received light sentences — sometimes as little as three months in prison, often commutable to a fine, Lo said.

  In such cases, the legislature should bear responsibility for creating penalties with both a ceiling and a floor, he said.

  Anti-espionage statutes should be revised in line with other criminal laws, such as the Anti-Corruption Act (貪汙治罪條例), which mandates a minimum prison term of several years and does not allow fines in lieu of jail time, he added.

  He also urged the executive and judicial branches to stop shifting blame, adding that while prosecutors often struggle to provide sufficient evidence, judges are equally constrained to deliver lighter sentences when the evidence is lacking.

  The first priority is to establish a penalty floor through legislation or amendments to existing laws, Lo said, adding that there would be little public opposition to imposing a minimum prison term — such as one to three years — for treason.

  He further called for revising the legal elements of espionage-related offenses to improve the admissibility of evidence and give judges a clearer basis for convicting defendants of treason.

  It is equally important to raise judges’ awareness of national security issues, Lo said, citing the case of Fingermedia (指傳媒), a China-backed media outlet that disseminated falsified polling data ahead of last year’s presidential election.

  In the first trial, the presiding judge considered Fingermedia’s connections with those at the top of the Chinese-language newspaper Fujian Daily to be “insufficient” as evidence of the company’s link with the Chinese government, although the newspaper is affiliated directly with the Fujian Provincial Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, Lo said.

  “This reflected a lack of understanding of China’s party-state system and the inextricable link between the government and its people, which led to a flawed judgement,” he said.

  National security literacy should therefore be incorporated into judicial education to prevent judges from assessing China under the same legal framework as regular constitutional states and imposing inappropriate sentences, he added.

  Lo also said that administrative measures should be taken before criminal proceedings, citing the Mainland Affairs Council’s handling of controversial remarks by pro-China entertainers as an example.

  Executive agencies can launch investigations and impose sanctions under the Administrative Procedure Act (行政程序法) prior to criminal prosecution, he said.

  If the penalized party disagrees, they retain the right to seek an administrative remedy or appeal through the courts, he added.

  Swift administrative action can counter infiltration and espionage more directly and effectively, particularly since criminal trials are often lengthy, he said.
• Most Popular

  • 1

    Podul intensifies as it approaches: CWA

  • 2

    Alcaraz battles as Shelton, Zverev ease through

  • 3

    Tropical Storm Podul strengthens into typhoon

  • 4

    Taipei, New Taipei step up anti-pickpocket measures

  • 5

    Taipei interested in restoring ties with Honduras: ministry