Twenty-one lawmakers have proposed amendments to the National Security Act (國家安全法) and National Intelligence Service Act (國家情報工作法), seeking to redefine the scope of classified information and impose heavier sanctions on those leaking it to hostile nations.
The amendments, proposed by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) and 20 other lawmakers, are designed to deter people from leaking confidential information by severely punishing offenders.
On average, offenders are sentenced to only six months in prison, even if the cases against them were backed up by solid evidence, the lawmakers said.
Photo: Reuters
Such an inconsequential penalty only emboldens those who intend to leak confidential information to China and would compromise national security, they said.
The proposed amendment to the National Intelligence Service Act would require that those accused of security breaches be tried in a special court presided over by judges with expertise in national security, the lawmakers said.
Judges at this court would have to complete on-the-job training every year, and the Judicial Yuan would be authorized to prescribe the minimum number of hours of training needed, they said.
The amendment to Article 2 of the National Security Act would expand the definition of confidential documents from those that are only for official use to those involving national security and the public interest, the lawmakers said.
People who disclose, deliver or transmit confidential documents to China or another hostile nation would be sentenced to three to 10 years in prison and fined up to NT$30 million (US$949,187), they said, adding that the current penalty is one to seven years in prison and a fine of up to NT$10 million.
In other news, the legislature’s Internal Administration Committee is scheduled to hold a meeting today to hear a presentation from Ocean Affairs Council Minister Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) about the coast guard’s pursuit of a Chinese boat, which led to the vessel capsizing, causing the deaths of two Chinese.
Lawmakers have taken issue with the council unilaterally changing the committee’s title for the presentation from “Kinmen boat ramming case” to “Incident in cracking down on Chinese speedboat.”
DPP caucus secretary-general Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) yesterday said that the wording of the committee’s original title harbored a pre-determined stance that naturally invited discussion.
She added that her caucus has issued a “top mobilization” order requiring party members to attend the meeting today.
Additional reporting by Hsieh Chun-lin
Taiwan aims to open 18 representative offices and seven Taiwan Tourism Information Centers worldwide by next year to attract international visitors, the Tourism Administration said on Saturday. The agency has so far opened three representative offices abroad this year and would open two more before the end of the year, it said. It has also already opened information centers in Jakarta, Mumbai and Paris, and is to open one in Vancouver next month and in Manila in December, it said. Next year, it would also open offices in Amsterdam, Dubai and Sydney, it added. While the Cabinet did not mention international tourists in its
EYES AT SEA: Many marine enthusiasts have expressed interest in volunteering for coastal patrols, which would help identify stowaways and illegal fishing, the CGA said Six thousand coastal patrol volunteers are to be recruited for 159 inspection offices to enhance the nation’s response to “gray zone” conflicts, Coast Guard Administration (CGA) sources said yesterday. Volunteer teams would be established to increase the resilience of coastal defense systems in the wake of two unlawful entries attempted by Chinese over the past three months, Ocean Affairs Council Minister Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) said. A former Chinese navy captain drove a motorboat into the Tamsui River (淡水河) in Taipei on the eve of the Dragon Boat Festival in June, while another Chinese man sailed in a rubber boat into the Houkeng
NEXT LEVEL: The defense ministry confirmed that a video released last month featured personnel piloting new FPV drone systems being developed by the Armaments Bureau Taipei and Washington are pushing for their drone companies to work together to establish a China-free supply chain, the Financial Times reported on Friday. A delegation of high-level executives and US government officials were yesterday to arrive in Taipei to discuss with their Taiwanese counterparts collaboration on drone technology procurement and development, the report said. The executives represent 26 US manufacturers of drone and counter-drone systems, while the officials are from the US Department of Commerce and the US Department of Defense’s Defense Innovation Unit, along with Dev Shenoy, principal director for microelectronics in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense
‘ANONYMOUS 64’: A national security official said that it is an attempt by China to increase domestic anti-Taiwanese sentiment and inflame cross-strait tensions The Ministry of National Defense’s (MND) Information, Communications and Electronic Force Command (ICEFCOM) yesterday denied accusations by China that it had undermined regional security by carrying out cyberattacks against targets in China, adding instead that Beijing was responsible for raising tensions and undermining regional peace. The Chinese Ministry of State Security on WeChat accused a hacker group called “Anonymous 64” of targeting China, Hong Kong and Macau starting earlier this year through frequent cyberattacks. The group carried out cyberattacks to seize control of Web sites, outdoor electronic billboards and video-on-demand platforms in China, Hong Kong and Macau, it said, adding the hackers’