The Legislative Yuan yesterday approved the Executive Yuan’s proposal for stricter China travel rules for officials for committee review, but blocked its proposed amendments on public speech on the Internet.
Under the Executive Yuan’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), civil servants ranked below “grade 10” who are not involved in classified work would be required to obtain approval from their agencies before traveling to China.
Legislators and personnel who are aware of or possess state secrets would be required to obtain approval from a joint review committee composed of members from the Ministry of the Interior, the National Security Bureau, the Ministry of Justice, the Mainland Affairs Council and other agencies, the draft amendments say.
Photo: Lin Liang-sheng, Taipei Times
The draft amendments also mandate elected public officials to publicly disclose all contact with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), or the Chinese government, military, administrative or other politically affiliated agencies during their trips, adding that upon returning to Taiwan, they must submit the details of their contacts, including the time, location, purpose and content of the meeting, which would then be publicly disclosed.
Those who previously held certain positions would be prohibited from attending Chinese government or military ceremonies, activities that undermine national dignity and events organized by CCP entities that advocate eliminating or downgrading Taiwanese sovereignty, they say.
The opposition yesterday blocked the Executive Yuan’s proposed amendments to the Social Order Maintenance Act (社會秩序維護法) that would have seen offenders face maximum fines of up to NT$30,000 for spreading hate speech in public places.
The draft amendments also state that anyone who publicly advocates, promotes, spreads or broadcasts hateful speech, terrorism or claims that escalate social division or deny the sovereignty of the Republic of China on the Internet could have their account terminated.
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus said the proposed amendment is akin to Internet martial law.
The Taiwan People’s Party caucus said that while it is a national consensus not to encourage hatred or promote or glorify terrorism, “the Executive Yuan is advised not to use the Social Order Maintenance Act as an excuse to suppress all voices that question the government.”
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