Draft amendments to allow people accused of spying for China to be indicted on foreign aggression charges and to allow political parties to be indicted on organized crime charges was approved yesterday by the legislature’s Judiciary and Organic Laws and Statutes Committee.
Prosecutors have traditionally cited the National Security Act (國家安全法) when indicting alleged Chinese spies because the treason and foreign aggression offenses stipulated in the Criminal Code only apply to crimes committed on behalf of an “enemy state.”
However, convictions under the National Security Act are subject to a maximum sentence of five years in prison, which is seen as too lenient for people working for China.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Wang Ding-yu (王定宇) proposed amending the Criminal Code to make the foreign aggression charges applicable to crimes committed by an “enemy” in addition to an “enemy state.”
A conviction for treason or foreign aggression would be punishable by life imprisonment or death, while those found guilty of attempted treason or foreign aggression would face a prison sentence of three to 10 years.
The amendment is to undergo cross-caucus negotiations before being reviewed by a plenary session.
The definition of “enemy” was taken from the Criminal Code of the Armed Forces (陸海空軍刑法), which stipulates that any collusion with an “enemy group” can constitute treason, Wang said.
“Treason and foreign aggression offenses have never been filed ... since they were enacted because of complications involving the nation’s status. The amendment aims to put aside controversies and make the law applicable,” Wang said.
Retired vice admiral Ko Cheng-sheng (柯政盛) was sentenced to just 14 months in prison for helping China set up a spy ring of other navy officers since the Criminal Code does not address Chinese espionage cases, and the amendment would close this loophole, Wang said.
The Ministry of Justice has voiced concern about possible confusion over the terms “enemy” and “enemy state” in the Criminal Code, and said it was working to amend the National Security Act to increase the penalties for treason.
However, the ministry’s plan is for an amendment that would only apply to crimes committed for a state or a terrorist group, thereby sidestepping defining China’s relation to Taiwan, Deputy Minister of Justice Tsai Pi-chung (蔡碧仲) said.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator John Wu (吳志揚) said Wang’s amendment was basically directed against China, adding that the Mainland Affairs Council said the use of “enemy” and the indictment of Chinese intelligence operatives on foreign aggression charges would affect cross-strait relations.
The committee also approved an amendment proposed by Wang to the Organized Crime Prevention Act (組織犯罪條例) to change the legal definition of organized criminal organizations from “permanent and profit-seeking” groups to “permanent or profit-seeking.”
The proposed amendment follows several violent incidents involving members of the China Unification Promotion Party and its affiliates, which are not profit-oriented groups.
DPP Legislator Tsai Yi-yu (蔡易餘) said that while there has been an increase in fraud cases, there has been a decrease in convictions on organized crime charges, which shows that it is difficult to apply the Organized Crime Prevention Act to such crimes.
The amendment would also require stringent witness protection measures to encourage people to testify, while witnesses who are overseas would be allowed to testify via video interviews.
US PUBLICATION: The results indicated a change in attitude after a 2023 survey showed 55 percent supported full-scale war to achieve unification, the report said More than half of Chinese were against the use of force to unify with Taiwan under any circumstances, a survey conducted by the Atlanta, Georgia-based Carter Center and Emory University found. The survey results, which were released on Wednesday in a report titled “Sovereignty, Security, & US-China Relations: Chinese Public Opinion,” showed that 55.1 percent of respondents agreed or somewhat agreed that “the Taiwan problem should not be resolved using force under any circumstances,” while 24.5 percent “strongly” or “somewhat” disagreed with the statement. The results indicated a change in attitude after a survey published in “Assessing Public Support for (Non)Peaceful Unification
The CIA has a message for Chinese government officials worried about their place in Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) government: Come work with us. The agency released two Mandarin-language videos on social media on Thursday inviting disgruntled officials to contact the CIA. The recruitment videos posted on YouTube and X racked up more than 5 million views combined in their first day. The outreach comes as CIA Director John Ratcliffe has vowed to boost the agency’s use of intelligence from human sources and its focus on China, which has recently targeted US officials with its own espionage operations. The videos are “aimed at
SHIFT: Taiwan’s better-than-expected first-quarter GDP and signs of weakness in the US have driven global capital back to emerging markets, the central bank head said The central bank yesterday blamed market speculation for the steep rise in the local currency, and urged exporters and financial institutions to stay calm and stop panic sell-offs to avoid hurting their own profitability. The nation’s top monetary policymaker said that it would step in, if necessary, to maintain order and stability in the foreign exchange market. The remarks came as the NT dollar yesterday closed up NT$0.919 to NT$30.145 against the US dollar in Taipei trading, after rising as high as NT$29.59 in intraday trading. The local currency has surged 5.85 percent against the greenback over the past two sessions, central
‘MISGUIDED EDICT’: Two US representatives warned that Somalia’s passport move could result in severe retaliatory consequences and urged it to reverse its decision Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) has ordered that a special project be launched to counter China’s “legal warfare” distorting UN Resolution 2758, a foreign affairs official said yesterday. Somalia’s Civil Aviation Authority on Wednesday cited UN Resolution 2758 and Mogadishu’s compliance with the “one China” principle as it banned people from entering or transiting in the African nation using Taiwanese passports or other Taiwanese travel documents. The International Air Transport Association’s system shows that Taiwanese passport holders cannot enter Somalia or transit there. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) protested the move and warned Taiwanese against traveling to Somalia or Somaliland
RSS