NATIONAL SECURITY: A minister pushed for passage of laws allowing the government to take action against those who openly or covertly threaten public safety
- By Lin Hsin-han / Staff reporter
The National Police Agency (NPA) will step up efforts to prevent election interference by China, gangs and local collaborators, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said yesterday.
Liu made the remarks during a plenary session at the legislature in response to concerns by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Michelle Lin (林楚茵).
China’s transnational repression is having a direct impact on Taiwan, Lin said.
Premier Cho Jung-tai, center, speaks, as Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang, left, and Mainland Affairs Council Minister Chiu Chui-cheng look on during a plenary session at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday.Photo: Tu Chien-jung, Taipei Times
Bulletproof glass has already been installed for DPP Taipei mayoral candidate Puma Shen (沈伯洋) amid heightened security concerns, she said.
Comedian Huang Yi-hao (黃逸豪) has also been subjected to surveillance and attacks allegedly carried out by local collaborators working on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party, while television host and writer Kevin Tsai (蔡康永) might have been pressured into issuing a public apology and saying he did not support Taiwan independence, Lin said.
Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said that external forces have repeatedly sent military aircraft and warships to harass Taiwan, with these activities growing increasingly brazen and extending into Taiwan’s territory.
The examples cited by Lin clearly show that these operations are directed by foreign forces and carried out with the assistance of local collaborators, he added.
In Shen’s case, the Hong Kongers who allegedly commissioned and funded the operation have fled, Cho said, adding that the sequence of events appears to be a clear example of how transnational repression is carried out in practice.
Noting that effective countermeasures must be developed under the Anti-Infiltration Act (反滲透法) and through other relevant mechanisms, Cho said a task force has already been established, and at last week’s Cabinet meeting, he called for measures to protect public safety, including the security of all candidates and related individuals over the next month.
Liu said her ministry, through the NPA, would implement special measures to counter transnational repression, in line with directives from the Presidential Office and the Cabinet.
During the election campaign, enhanced security measures would be introduced for any candidate who experience a surge in online or media attacks, she said.
Since the beginning of this year, the NPA has launched three nationwide crackdowns on organized crime, she said.
Together with its ongoing crime-fighting initiatives, the operations have resulted in 483 cases involving 2,886 suspects, she said.
Some of those involved have ties to specific political parties, and authorities have seized more than NT$700 million (US$21.57 million) in illicit proceeds, she said.
With election campaigning entering its final stretch, Liu said the NPA would direct police agencies nationwide to step up efforts to prevent transnational repression and interference by local gangs and collaborators from affecting Taiwan’s elections.
Such interference would have a negative impact on the development of Taiwan’s democracy, she said.
Liu also called on the Legislative Yuan to expedite amendments to the National Security Act (國家安全法), the Anti-Infiltration Act and relevant laws, saying stronger legal tools would enable the government to take action against those who openly or covertly threaten public safety and national security.