The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office on Tuesday indicted Taiwan People’s Communist Party Chairman Lin Te-wang (林德旺) and two others on suspicion of aiding Beijing to interfere with Taiwan’s politics and elections. Prosecutors charged the three with contravention of the Anti-infiltration Act (反滲透法) and asked the court to consider heavy penalties.
Despite the request, it is unlikely that Lin would face much more than a fine if found guilty. The act, which was introduced in 2019, stipulates a fine of up to NT$10 million (US$310,492) and a five-year prison term for some offenses. However, the top range of penalties is not generally imposed.
Critics have said the scope of the act is too limited, and despite calls from Democratic Progressive Party legislators Kuo Kuo-wen (郭國文) and Chiu Chih-wei (邱志偉) in 2021 and last year respectively to amend the act, no proposal has passed a reading in the legislature.
The act’s limitations are the main hurdle facing prosecutors, who often indict people accused with collaborating with China under the Criminal Code or other laws, but are faced with judges who refuse to hand out heavy punishments.
Much of the problem lies in the Constitution, which fails to recognize the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as a foreign country, instead holding fast to the idea that territory under PRC administration is to inevitably be united with Taiwan under the Republic of China government.
Of course, such a scenario is impossible, but there is continued resistance in Taiwan to the idea of amending the Constitution, mainly among the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and its supporters.
The only option to combat subversion and protect Taiwan’s sovereignty is to amend the act and other laws to empower prosecutors.
There is a lot in common between those in fringe political parties such as the Taiwan People’s Communist Party and the China Unification Promotion Party working with Beijing and those who would sell national secrets to Beijing. Both commit acts of subversion with the intention to disrupt Taiwan’s political system.
Beijing is aware that Taiwan is legislatively inept at tackling subversion and skilled at finding ways to use the nation’s social and political freedoms against it.
Legal experts, lawmakers and other officials have warned numerous times that punishments for those caught spying are too lenient.
In January, then-Presidential Office spokesman Alex Huang (黃重諺) lamented the lenient rulings in cases against retired army lieutenant colonel Wei Hsien-yi (魏先儀) and retired air force major general Chien Yao-tung (錢耀棟), who were both found guilty of recruiting Taiwanese military personnel to spy for China.
“I find it unbelievable that in these cases, judges handed out sentences that are more lenient than those for drunk driving offenses,” Huang said.
Espionage will continue as long as Beijing knows that it can recruit people, and it will continue to recruit people as long as the money it offers outweighs the consequences for getting caught.
Lawmakers should draft comprehensive amendments that stipulate serious penalties for all acts of subversion. It must also stipulate minimum punishments that are a deterrent, preventing judges from subverting the spirit of the legislation out of some misplaced reluctance to sentence people who act on behalf of China.
It is important that Taiwan tips the scale in its favor, making it more costly than beneficial to help Beijing and parties that aid foreign governments should be removed from the political sphere.
Given Taiwan’s authoritarian past, politicians are generally reluctant to draft laws that could be interpreted as limiting personal freedoms. However, only through a heavy hand can Taiwan protect its freedoms and democracy against subversion by China.
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