The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus is ready to unveil a draft anti-infiltration law today, caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) said yesterday, adding that the goal is to have the bill clear a second reading on Friday.
Concerns about Beijing’s attempts to annex Taiwan and reports about a self-confessed Chinese spy saying that he had been tasked with influencing elections in Taiwan show that an anti-infiltration law is needed, Ker said.
Following discussions with the Ministry of Justice, Mainland Affairs Council and Executive Yuan, the DPP on Friday devised the core of the bill and would reveal its details at a news conference today, he said.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
The bill would be submitted to the legislature’s Procedure Committee for review tomorrow, he added.
On Thursday, the legislature’s Internal Administration Committee is to hold a public hearing on a series of proposed draft amendments to crack down on Chinese proxies promoting Beijing’s interests in Taiwan, Ker said.
The hearing would provide an opportunity to exchange opinions on the anti-infiltration bill before legislators meet on Friday for its second reading, he said.
On whether the bill could clear a third reading before the end of the legislative session, Ker said it depends on “the attitude of opposition parties.”
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus whip William Tseng (曾銘宗) said his caucus would determine its stance on the bill after reading the document.
The KMT would consider whether the bill is indeed necessary to ensure national security and stability, he added.
The bill would ban people from lobbying for a political cause, making political donations, interfering with assemblies, undermining social order or engaging in other activities that could influence local elections and referendums based on instructions, or using funds, from a foreign state or organization.
Those found guilty of influencing elections in such manners could be sentenced to up to seven years in prison in addition to a fine of up to NT$5 million (US$163,843), according to the bill.
If an organization is found guilty, the person in charge would be held responsible, it states.
Although a number of laws — including the Political Donations Act (政治獻金法), the Referendum Act (公民投票法), the Lobbying Act (遊說法) and the Civil Servants Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法) — already ban such activities, the proposed bill would increase the punishments.
While the New Power Party (NPP) has accused the DPP of deliberately setting aside the bill and related proposed amendments, DPP lawmakers have been working on them since the end of May, Ker said.
On Nov. 16, Ker said that bills to crack down on Chinese Communist Party proxies would not pass a third reading during the current legislative session due to the limited time remaining.
Ker yesterday said there are eight versions of similar bills proposed by the DPP caucus, NPP caucus and a number of DPP legislators.
Incorporating different versions could be difficult and the DPP caucus has been pondering how to best approach the issue, he said.
Super Typhoon Kong-rey is the largest cyclone to impact Taiwan in 27 years, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said today. Kong-rey’s radius of maximum wind (RMW) — the distance between the center of a cyclone and its band of strongest winds — has expanded to 320km, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said. The last time a typhoon of comparable strength with an RMW larger than 300km made landfall in Taiwan was Typhoon Herb in 1996, he said. Herb made landfall between Keelung and Suao (蘇澳) in Yilan County with an RMW of 350km, Chang said. The weather station in Alishan (阿里山) recorded 1.09m of
NO WORK, CLASS: President William Lai urged people in the eastern, southern and northern parts of the country to be on alert, with Typhoon Kong-rey approaching Typhoon Kong-rey is expected to make landfall on Taiwan’s east coast today, with work and classes canceled nationwide. Packing gusts of nearly 300kph, the storm yesterday intensified into a typhoon and was expected to gain even more strength before hitting Taitung County, the US Navy’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center said. The storm is forecast to cross Taiwan’s south, enter the Taiwan Strait and head toward China, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The CWA labeled the storm a “strong typhoon,” the most powerful on its scale. Up to 1.2m of rainfall was expected in mountainous areas of eastern Taiwan and destructive winds are likely
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday at 5:30pm issued a sea warning for Typhoon Kong-rey as the storm drew closer to the east coast. As of 8pm yesterday, the storm was 670km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻) and traveling northwest at 12kph to 16kph. It was packing maximum sustained winds of 162kph and gusts of up to 198kph, the CWA said. A land warning might be issued this morning for the storm, which is expected to have the strongest impact on Taiwan from tonight to early Friday morning, the agency said. Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼) and Green Island (綠島) canceled classes and work
KONG-REY: A woman was killed in a vehicle hit by a tree, while 205 people were injured as the storm moved across the nation and entered the Taiwan Strait Typhoon Kong-rey slammed into Taiwan yesterday as one of the biggest storms to hit the nation in decades, whipping up 10m waves, triggering floods and claiming at least one life. Kong-rey made landfall in Taitung County’s Chenggong Township (成功) at 1:40pm, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The typhoon — the first in Taiwan’s history to make landfall after mid-October — was moving north-northwest at 21kph when it hit land, CWA data showed. The fast-moving storm was packing maximum sustained winds of 184kph, with gusts of up to 227kph, CWA data showed. It was the same strength as Typhoon Gaemi, which was the most
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