The Executive Yuan yesterday approved a draft act authorizing military personnel to use their weapons to defend a base against trespassers and imposing prison sentences for spying on restricted military sites with drones.
Defense officials proposed the law to bolster the security of military bases and sites after legal reviews found current regulations to be insufficient, the Ministry of National Defense told a news briefing.
Intrusion by drones into restricted space, trespassing by civilians into bases and assault on guards have occurred in the past, it said.
Photo courtesy of the Military News Agency
The proposed legislation suggests authorizing guards to use weapons and other implements to prevent unauthorized entry into military bases and intrusion into restricted airspace by uncrewed aerial vehicles, the ministry said.
Committing theft in crucial military facilities, causing damage to these facilities or endangering their security would result in a sentence of one to seven years in prison and a fine of up to NT$10 million (US$311,410), it said.
Carrying out these acts with an intent to impede or interfere with national security would result in a sentence of three to 10 years in prison and a fine of no more than NT$50 million, the ministry said.
If death occurs as a result of such acts, the penalty would be further increased to seven years to life in prison and a fine of up to NT$100 million, it said.
A penalty of five to 12 years in prison and a fine of up to NT$80 million is stipulated in cases where such acts led to serious injuries, the ministry said.
Jeopardizing the normal operation of core informational systems of military bases would lead to a sentence of one to seven years in prison in addition to a NT$10 million fine, it said.
Unauthorized surveying, recording or description of military facilities with the aid of drones is punishable by a sentence of up to three years in prison, the ministry said.
Compromising a military base’s security by surveying, recording or describing it from outside the restricted area would be punishable by a fine of NT$300,000 to NT$500,000.
The proposed law would apply to crucial military facilities, bases of military units and organizations, or any legally formed restricted area in which military exercises or training is being conducted, it said.
Attempts to intimidate or blackmail service members guarding a military base or other restricted area would be punishable by a sentence of no more than three years in prison commutable to a NT$300,000 fine, the ministry said.
Entering into restricted military areas would result in a NT$40,000 to NT$200,000 fine for each count of trespass, it added.
In related news, the Executive Yuan also approved amendments to the Domestic Violence Prevention Act (家庭暴力防治法) and Sports Industry Development Act (運動產業發展條例).
The changes to the law against domestic violence would require social media platforms and Internet service providers to remove or restrict access to sexual recordings of domestic abuse victims upon being notified by authorities.
Platforms and service providers that fail to remove or restrict access to such material after being notified to do so would be subjected to a repeatable fine of NT$60,000 to NT$600,000.
Proposed changes to the sports law would punish scalpers of sports events with a fine of 10 to 50 times the original ticket value, while large-volume scalping could result in a prison sentence of up to three years.
A fine of no more than NT$3 million could be added to the latter type of breach or used to commute the prison sentence.
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