Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) yesterday vowed to review the newly passed Anti-infiltration Act (反滲透法) if he is elected president and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) regains control of the Legislative Yuan.
The act is “a bad law” that would cause fear among the public once in effect, the KMT presidential candidate told reporters in Tainan.
“If I am elected president and the KMT regains a majority in the legislature, we would definitely review the act to ensure that Taiwanese can live without fear,” Han said.
Photo: Shih Hsiao-kuang, Taipei Times
The passage of the act on Tuesday by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)-controlled legislature is an example of the “tyranny of the majority,” he said.
When the DPP was a minority party in the legislature, it often criticized the KMT using its legislative majority to push through bills, he added.
“Now we see the DPP doing the same thing, only in a worse manner: The act passed a first reading without undergoing an initial review and the Executive Yuan did not even offer an alternative version,” Han said.
“What is most unbelievable is that President [Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文)] directly ordered its passage,” he said, adding that the way the act was passed was unacceptable to the public.
Earlier at a flag-raising ceremony in Tainan, Han compared the passage of the act to tying a bomb to people’s necks, saying that it allows the DPP to “blow up” anyone it chooses.
“The DPP must think clearly — do you want people to vote for you because they love you, or vote for you because they fear you?” Han said.
Separately yesterday, former premier Simon Chang (張善政), Han’s running mate, said at a flag-raising ceremony at KMT headquarters in Taipei that the passage of the act was “the darkest day in the history of the Republic of China since its democratization.”
The act’s passage went against the will of the Taiwanese public, he said, adding that most look forward to seeing it reviewed.
Former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), who was also at the event, said: “The passage of the Anti-infiltration Act means the return of the Martial Law period.”
Last month, National Taiwan University professor Su Hung-dah (蘇宏達) was summoned for questioning by police after criticizing the National Palace Museum’s renovation plan in a video he posted on Facebook, Ma said.
As a frequent critic of the act, “I might be next [to be summoned for questioning], but I am not scared, because the Anti-infiltration Act is unconstitutional,” he added.
The Mainland Affairs Council said that the passage of the act was both necessary and in line with public expectations.
It aims to protect national security, social order and Taiwan’s democracy from external threats, the council said, adding that similar legislation has been passed in the US, Germany, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
The act only punishes people who make political donations, lobby for a political cause, campaign for a political candidate, upset social order or spread disinformation to influence elections under the instruction or sponsorship of a foreign government or organization, it said.
Businesspeople, academics and students engaging in normal cross-strait exchanges would not be affected, it added.
Additional reporting by Chung Li-hua and Lai Hsiao-tung
TRAGEDY: An expert said that the incident was uncommon as the chance of a ground crew member being sucked into an IDF engine was ‘minuscule’ A master sergeant yesterday morning died after she was sucked into an engine during a routine inspection of a fighter jet at an air base in Taichung, the Air Force Command Headquarters said. The officer, surnamed Hu (胡), was conducting final landing checks at Ching Chuan Kang (清泉崗) Air Base when she was pulled into the jet’s engine for unknown reasons, the air force said in a news release. She was transported to a hospital for emergency treatment, but could not be revived, it said. The air force expressed its deepest sympathies over the incident, and vowed to work with authorities as they
A tourist who was struck and injured by a train in a scenic area of New Taipei City’s Pingsi District (平溪) on Monday might be fined for trespassing on the tracks, the Railway Police Bureau said yesterday. The New Taipei City Fire Department said it received a call at 4:37pm on Monday about an incident in Shifen (十分), a tourist destination on the Pingsi Railway Line. After arriving on the scene, paramedics treated a woman in her 30s for a 3cm to 5cm laceration on her head, the department said. She was taken to a hospital in Keelung, it said. Surveillance footage from a
BITTERLY COLD: The inauguration ceremony for US president-elect Donald Trump has been moved indoors due to cold weather, with the new venue lacking capacity A delegation of cross-party lawmakers from Taiwan, led by Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), for the inauguration of US president-elect Donald Trump, would not be able to attend the ceremony, as it is being moved indoors due to forecasts of intense cold weather in Washington tomorrow. The inauguration ceremony for Trump and US vice president-elect JD Vance is to be held inside the Capitol Rotunda, which has a capacity of about 2,000 people. A person familiar with the issue yesterday said although the outdoor inauguration ceremony has been relocated, Taiwan’s legislative delegation has decided to head off to Washington as scheduled. The delegation
Another wave of cold air would affect Taiwan starting from Friday and could evolve into a continental cold mass, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Temperatures could drop below 10°C across Taiwan on Monday and Tuesday next week, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said. Seasonal northeasterly winds could bring rain, he said. Meanwhile, due to the continental cold mass and radiative cooling, it would be cold in northern and northeastern Taiwan today and tomorrow, according to the CWA. From last night to this morning, temperatures could drop below 10°C in northern Taiwan, it said. A thin coat of snow
RSS