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
The Taipei MRT is open all night tonight following New Year’s Eve festivities, and is offering free rides from nearby Green Line stations. Taipei’s 2025 New Year’s Eve celebrations kick off at Taipei City Hall Square tonight, with performances from the boy band Energy, the South Korean girl group Apink, and singers Gigi Leung (梁詠琪) and Faith Yang (楊乃文). Taipei 101’s annual New Year’s firework display follows at midnight, themed around Taiwan’s Premier12 baseball championship. Estimates say there will be about 200,000 people in attendance, which is more than usual as this year’s celebrations overlap with A-mei’s (張惠妹) concert at Taipei Dome. There are
LOOKING FOR WHEELS: The military is seeking 8x8 single-chassis vehicles to test the new missile and potentially replace the nation’s existing launch vehicles, the source said Taiwan is developing a hypersonic missile based on the Ching Tien (擎天) supersonic cruise missile, and a Czech-made truck has been tentatively selected as its launch vehicle, a source said yesterday. The Ching Tien, formerly known as Yun Feng (雲峰, “Cloud Peak”), is a domestically developed missile with a range of 1,200km to 2,000km being deployed in casemate-type positions as of last month, an official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity. The hypersonic missile to be derived from the Ching Tien would feature improved range and a mobile launch platform, while the latter would most likely be a 12x12 single chassis
UP AND DOWN: The route would include a 16.4km underground section from Zuoying to Fongshan and a 9.5km elevated part from Fongshan to Pingtung Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) yesterday confirmed a project to extend the high-speed rail (HSR) to Pingtung County through Kaohsiung. Cho made the announcement at a ceremony commemorating the completion of a dome at Kaohsiung Main Station. The Ministry of Transportation and Communications approved the HSR expansion in 2019 using a route that branches off a line from Zuoying Station in Kaohsiung’s Zuoying District (左營). The project was ultimately delayed due to a lack of support for the route. The Zuoying route would have trains stop at the Zuoying Station and return to a junction before traveling southward to Pingtung County’s Lioukuaicuo Township (六塊厝).
Parts of the nation, including in the south, could experience temperatures as low as 7°C early tomorrow morning, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. A strong continental cold air mass coupled with the effect of radiative cooling would bring cold weather to several northern cities and counties, and could even affect areas as far south as Tainan early tomorrow, the CWA said. Keelung, Taipei, New Taipei City and Taoyuan, and Hsinchu, Miaoli and Yilan counties would experience temperatures below 10°C until this evening, according to cold surge advisories issued by the weather agency. The weather across the nation is forecast to remain
RSS