Taiwan is thoroughly reviewing four key military court system bills as part of efforts to counter Chinese infiltration, following President William Lai’s (賴清德) 17-point national security strategy unveiled in March, Executive Yuan Secretary-General Xavier Chang (張惇涵) said in an exclusive interview with Liberty Times (sister paper of Taipei Times).
Lai’s 17-point strategy is aimed at countering Chinese threats to Taiwan’s sovereignty, military infiltration, confusion of national identity, promotion of reunification and drawing in Taiwanese businesses and young people, Chang said.
The Executive Yuan has already identified 120 related tasks, including 21 laws that need to be amended or legislated as well as executive orders and administrative measures that need to be revised, he said.
Photo: Chen Yu-jui, Taipei Times
Much of this work has already begun, including passing the Special Statute on Strengthening the Resilience of the Economy, Society and National Security in Response to International Developments (因應國際情勢強化經濟社會及民生國安韌性特別條例) and amendments to the Cyber Security Management Act (資通安全管理法) and Industrial Innovation Statute (產業創新條例), Chang said.
The Legislative Yuan has also completed an initial review of legislation concerning undersea cables, classifying them as critical infrastructure and increasing penalties for illegal vessels, he said.
The legislation would impose the same criminal liability for damaging water or natural gas pipelines as for damaging undersea cables and require ships to activate their automatic identification systems, he added.
In response to Chinese attempts to infiltrate the military, the four major bills concerning the military justice system, the Military Trial Act (軍事審判法), Military Judges Personnel Act (軍法官人事條例), Military Court Organization Act (軍事法院組織法) and Military Prosecutors Office Organization Act (軍事檢察署組織法), are being intensively reviewed, Chang said.
The National Security Act (國家安全法) and Criminal Code of the Armed Forces (陸海空軍刑法) are also being discussed and would be steadily improved, he added.
Regarding executive orders, plans and administrative measures, Chang said that next year’s national defense budget would reach three percent of national GDP, following the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s model.
In addition, the Mainland Affairs Council in April issued a new interpretation of 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), specifying that holding a permanent residency certificate issued by China would also result in the loss of “Taiwan status,” he said.
Military personnel, civil servants and teachers are prohibited from holding Chinese IDs or household registration and are required to report any contact with Chinese officials when traveling to China, Hong Kong or Macau, Chang said.
In terms of education, funding from the Higher Education Sprout Project cannot be used to sponsor trips to China, he added.
In other news, an amended regulation requiring Chinese nationals to provide notarized proof that they have renounced their People's Republic of China (PRC) passport to qualify for permanent residency in Taiwan is to take effect today, the Ministry of the Interior (MOI) announced Wednesday.
Under the amendment, the required document must be notarized and demonstrate that the applicant has "lost their household registration in the Mainland Area" and that they have "either not applied for, or renounced their PRC passport."
Before the amendment, the applicant was only required to hand in a document proving that their "original household registration" had been renounced.
The amendment is necessary because, in practice, Chinese nationals can still hold a PRC passport even after renouncing their household registration in China, the MOI said.
Additional reporting by CNA
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