Three years after sparking a human rights controversy, a draft amendment to DNA sample collection regulations has reappeared after the National Police Agency (NPA) recently raised the mater with lawmakers.
The draft amendment, which has passed a preliminary review in the legislature’s Judiciary and Organic Laws and Statutes Committee, was sent back for discussion last month amid allegations the proposals would infringe on human rights.
To facilitate management of recidivist convicts, the Ministry of the Interior has tried to expand DNA sampling, which is now limited to those convicted of rape or other violent crimes, to other convicts.
Three years ago it tried to persuade the legislature to pass a draft amendment to the Sexual Assault Crime Prevention Act (性侵害犯罪防治法) that would have mandated the enforced DNA sampling of people suspected of rape, murder, bodily harm, robbery, extortion and kidnapping for ransom.
It also tried to pass a proposal covering the second-level enforced DNA sampling of those found guilty after their first retrial, including those found guilty of an offense against public safety, offense against abandonment or offense of larceny, as well as violation of the Act on Controlling Guns, Ammunition and Knives (槍砲彈藥刀械管制條例) and the Narcotics Endangerment Prevention Act (毒品危害防制條例).
The DNA samples would be kept in perpetuity in the DNA database of the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) and would only be deleted if no indictment is issued or if the suspect is found not guilty.
In response to recent demonstrations by the White Rose movement, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Pan Wei-kang (潘維剛), who has pushed to amend the Sexual Assault Crime Prevention Act, said DNA sampling should expanded, and not just confined to those convicted of sexual assault.
Pan said people convicted of larceny and robbery also tend to have a high rate of committing sexual assault, adding that DNA sampling should be expanded to include most convicts as a means of combating sexual assaults.
KMT caucus secretary-general Hsieh Kuo-liang (謝國樑) said the majority of people in the pan-blue camp were inclined to agree with Pan, adding that concerns about the over-expansion of enforced sampling and potential infringements of human rights were open for discussion.
Increasing the DNA database would be a great help in maintaining public safety, Hsieh said, adding that since most felons were repeat convicts, once their DNA was in the database it would be easier for the police to track them down.
Hopefully the amendment could make it through their third reading, provided the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) agrees with it, Hsieh said.
However, DPP caucus convener Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) said certain issues, including who the samples would be taken from, how the data would be kept and expiration dates were all issues that needed to be addressed with the utmost care. He also said international legislation should be consulted.
The DPP would decide its stance after discussing the issue with human rights groups, Ker said.
Translated by Jake Chung, staff writer
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
Myanmar has turned down an offer of assistance from Taiwanese search-and-rescue teams after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the nation on Friday last week, saying other international aid is sufficient, the National Fire Agency said yesterday. More than 1,700 have been killed and 3,400 injured in the quake that struck near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay early on Friday afternoon, followed minutes later by a magnitude 6.7 aftershock. Worldwide, 13 international search-and-rescue teams have been deployed, with another 13 teams mobilizing, the agency said. Taiwan’s search-and-rescue teams were on standby, but have since been told to stand down, as