Independent Legislator Freddy Lim (林昶佐) yesterday urged the government to crack down on the China Unification Promotion Party (CUPP), citing possible serious breaches of the law, including colluding with an enemy state.
Lim told Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) at the legislature that CUPP founder Chang An-le (張安樂) had stated publicly that the party would form a “red” propaganda team to promote unification with China, including the possibility of “armed insurrection.”
“Our government must prohibit such brazen flouting of the law by those acting as collaborators with China,” Lim said.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
Chang said in a Chinese radio interview that the CUPP had recruited young Taiwanese, turning them from “green” to “red,” and that it was planning an armed insurrection within Taiwan when China launches an invasion of Taiwan, Lim said.
China’s propaganda warfare comes in many forms and in Taiwan it has the CUPP networking with criminal gangs, recruiting Taiwanese and creating havoc in society, he said.
Chang can speak freely, because he has the right to freedom of expression, “but he is promoting Chinese propaganda and calling for an armed insurrection, which is breaking the law,” Lim said.
Chang has breached Article 103 of the Criminal Code for colluding with a foreign state to start a war against the Republic of China (ROC); Article 104 on colluding with a foreign state to subject the ROC to the rule of such a state; and Article 105 on citizens joining the armed forces of an enemy state to fight against the ROC, Lim said, adding that the Criminal Code states that “offenders shall be sentenced to death or life imprisonment.”
Lim also cited breaches of Article 106 on people aiding the enemy or undermining the ROC military during a war; and Article 107 on persons recruiting for an enemy, inducing troops to surrender to the enemy, desert or mutiny, disclosing military secrets to an enemy state and conducting espionage to aid an enemy state.
In response, Su said that Taiwan is a free, democratic nation, but some people abuse these freedoms.
“We have rule of law here and those who break the law will be punished accordingly,” Su said. “This kind of talk is just irritating to most people, but we will request that the judiciary investigate these alleged breaches of the law.”
Additional reporting by Jason Pan
Taiwanese could risk being extradited to China when traveling in countries with close ties to Beijing, Taiwan Association of University Professors deputy chairman Chen Li-fu (陳俐甫) said on Friday. Chen’s comments came after China on Friday last week announced new judicial guidelines targeting Taiwanese independence advocates. Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Djibouti are among the countries where Taiwanese could risk being extradited to China, he said. The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday elevated the travel alert for China, Hong Kong and Macau to “orange” after Beijing announced its guidelines to “severely punish Taiwanese independence diehards for splitting the country and inciting secession.” Extradition treaties
Taiwan and Thailand have signed an agreement to promote and protect bilateral investment and trade, the Executive Yuan’s Office of Trade Negotiations (OTN) said on Friday. The agreement on “Promotion and Protection of Investments” was signed by Representative to Thailand Chang Chun-fu (張俊福) and Thailand Trade and Economic Office in Taipei executive director Narong Boonsatheanwong on Thursday, the OTN said in a news release. Thailand has become the fifth trading partner to sign an investment agreement with Taiwan since 2016, following earlier agreements with the Philippines, India, Vietnam and Canada, the OTN said. The deal marks a significant milestone in the development of
The entire Alishan Forest Railway line is to reopen for the first time in 15 years on Saturday, with tickets to go on sale at 2pm today. The historic railway from Chiayi to Alishan (阿里山) is finally set to reopen after the completion of the final No. 42 tunnel, Alishan Forest Railway and Cultural Heritage Office Deputy Director-General Chou Heng-kai (周恆凱) said. It is to run on a new timetable, with four trains daily, he said. The 9am train is to depart from Chiayi Railway Station bound for Shizilu Station (十字路), while the 10am train departing from Chiayi is to go all the
FLU CONTINUES: Hospitals reported 101,091 visits for flu-like illnesses last week, while 68 severe cases and 16 flu-related deaths were also reported, the CDC said The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday reported 932 hospitalizations due to COVID-19 and 64 related deaths for last week, adding that the number of people who had contracted new SARS-CoV-2 subvariants KP.2 and LB.1 has increased. The number of people hospitalized due to COVID-19 increased from 815 in the previous week to 932 last week, while 90 percent of the 64 deceased were aged 65 or older, CDC physician Lin Yung-ching (林詠青) said. JN.1 was still the dominant variant among local and imported cases in the past four weeks, while KP.2 was the second-most common, Lin said. Cases with the LB.1 subvariant