Taiwan is to reinstate military trials to counter Chinese infiltration and military espionage, President William Lai (賴清德) told reporters after convening a national security meeting this morning.
Restoring military trials would allow the judiciary and prosecutors to handle cases in which military officers commit crimes such as rebellion, leaking confidential information and aiding the enemy, Lai said.
The government has no choice but to take proactive action, as China is a “foreign hostile force,” as defined by the Anti-Infiltration Act (反滲透法), he said.
Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Taipei Times
China is deliberately infiltrating Taiwan’s military and conducting espionage activities, he said, citing a National Security Bureau report that showed the number of people prosecuted for involvement in espionage cases tripled last year compared with 2021.
Of the 64 people prosecuted, more than 66 percent were serving or retired military officers, he said.
The China Unification Promotion Party, the Rehabilitation Alliance Party and the “Republic of China Taiwan Military Government” are pro-China rebel groups established to build up military power in Taiwan, he said, describing the situation as “unimaginable,” yet possible in a free and democratic country.
China has been taking advantage of Taiwan’s freedom and openness to “absorb” members of its society, including people in organized crime groups, media personalities, and current and former military and police officers, he said.
It is time to implement preventive measures to improve our democratic resilience and national security to protect our free and democratic way of life that is much cherished, he said.
Reforms would be implemented, including enacting laws regulating military tribunals, and personnel management and organization, he said.
The Ministry of National Defense would provide further information and elaborate on the matter to garner public trust and support for the change, Lai said.
The ministry is to discuss making “showing loyalty to the enemy” punishable by amending the Criminal Code of the Armed Forces (陸海空軍刑法), he said.
The aim is to discourage military officers, serving or retired, from doing or saying anything that could harm the morale of the military and to uphold its discipline, he said.
Additional reporting by Reuters
DEFENSE: The National Security Bureau promised to expand communication and intelligence cooperation with global partners and enhance its strategic analytical skills China has not only increased military exercises and “gray zone” tactics against Taiwan this year, but also continues to recruit military personnel for espionage, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said yesterday in a report to the Legislative Yuan. The bureau submitted the report ahead of NSB Director-General Tsai Ming-yen’s (蔡明彥) appearance before the Foreign and National Defense Committee today. Last year, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) conducted “Joint Sword-2024A and B” military exercises targeting Taiwan and carried out 40 combat readiness patrols, the bureau said. In addition, Chinese military aircraft entered Taiwan’s airspace 3,070 times last year, up about
The Overseas Community Affairs Council (OCAC) yesterday announced a fundraising campaign to support survivors of the magnitude 7.7 earthquake that struck Myanmar on March 28, with two prayer events scheduled in Taipei and Taichung later this week. “While initial rescue operations have concluded [in Myanmar], many survivors are now facing increasingly difficult living conditions,” OCAC Minister Hsu Chia-ching (徐佳青) told a news conference in Taipei. The fundraising campaign, which runs through May 31, is focused on supporting the reconstruction of damaged overseas compatriot schools, assisting students from Myanmar in Taiwan, and providing essential items, such as drinking water, food and medical supplies,
A magnitude 4.3 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 8:31am today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was located in Hualien County, about 70.3 kilometers south southwest of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 23.2km, according to the administration. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County, where it measured 3 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 2 in Hualien and Nantou counties, the CWA said.
New Party Deputy Secretary-General You Chih-pin (游智彬) this morning went to the National Immigration Agency (NIA) to “turn himself in” after being notified that he had failed to provide proof of having renounced his Chinese household registration. He was one of more than 10,000 naturalized Taiwanese citizens from China who were informed by the NIA that their Taiwanese citizenship might be revoked if they fail to provide the proof in three months, people familiar with the matter said. You said he has proof that he had renounced his Chinese household registration and demanded the NIA provide proof that he still had Chinese
RSS