Amendments to the National Security Act (國家安全法) that stiffen penalties for companies that supply products to the military using Chinese parts went into effect on Friday.
The amendments to articles 11 and 12 of the act aim to prevent defense contractors from providing the military with China-made goods using explicit bans and heavy fines, the Ministry of Justice said.
Under the updated Article 11, those who provide China-made goods or services to the military face one to seven years in prison and up to NT$30 million (US$953,137) in fines.
Photo: Lo Tien-pin, Taipei Times
Under changes to Article 12, people who falsify the provision of military arms, munitions or other materiel face three to 10 years in prison and fines of NT$5 million to NT$50 million.
Amendments to Article 18 also set the High Court as the court of first instance for charges related to fostering clandestine organizations, to leverage the national security experience and expertise of the court and the Taiwan High Prosecutors’ Office, the Ministry of Justice said.
The amendments specify that the High Court convene a specialized court to oversee such cases.
The ministry said the amendments were needed to address the sensitive and confidential manner of national security cases.
It said it has already discussed with the Taiwan High Prosecutor’s Office about training personnel and obtaining equipment needed to oversee cases focused on national security matters.
When necessary, the first and second appellate courts and the prosecutors under those courts would work in teams to broaden the judicial system’s ability to handle national security cases, it said.
To prevent foreign powers from funding political parties or candidates, as part of efforts to undermine the legitimacy of elections and erode the nation’s democratic systems, the ministry said it is prioritizing efforts to combat foreign election influence attempts.
New Taipei City’s Ciaotou District (橋頭) Prosecutors’ Office earlier this week uncovered alleged efforts by China’s Taiwan Affairs Office to influence voters in January’s election to support specific candidates by offering paid trips to China.
The justice ministry urged the public to beware of such attempts and to avoid them to prevent inadvertently contravening the law.
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