Laws inadequate to fight transnational repression: MAC

• By Shelley Shan / Staff reporter

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Taiwan’s laws lack comprehensive provisions to address transnational repression, Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Deputy Minister Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said yesterday.

The nation has seen a rise in cases of suspected transnational repression, including the assault on Taiwan-based Japanese political commentator Akio Yaita, a feces attack on the Comedy Club in Taipei, and the alleged surveillance of Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Puma Shen (沈伯洋) and President William Lai’s (賴清德) son, who is in the US.

Asked whether the government plans to toughen sanctions against those involved in transnational repression, Liang said Taiwan has two laws that could be applied to such cases: the Anti-Infiltration Act (反滲透法) and the National Security Act (國家安全法).

Mainland Affairs Council Deputy Minister Liang Wen-chieh speaks during a news conference in Taipei yesterday.

Photo: CNA

The Anti-Infiltration Act covers acts conducted at the direction of overseas hostile forces that violate provisions of the Public Officials Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法), the Referendum Act (公投法), and the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法), Liang said.

The National Security Act addresses offenses involving the establishment of organizations in Taiwan and the leaking of national secrets, he said.

“The problem is that we are seeing an increase in forms of transnational repression that are not punishable under either laws, including illegal surveillance, stalking and unauthorized filming, physical attacks, splashing paint and throwing feces at the direction of overseas hostile forces,” Liang said.

In Yaita’s case, the perpetrator could be prosecuted for assault under the Organized Crime Prevention Act (組織犯罪條例), while the Comedy Club case could be prosecuted under the Criminal Code’s property damage provisions, Liang added.

The perpetrators in Shen’s case could be prosecuted under the Personal Data Protection Act (個人資料保護法), he said.

However, none of these punishments are designed to deter transnational repression, Liang said.

By contrast, US law states that surveillance conducted at the direction of a foreign government can constitute a crime, with perpetrators facing a maximum prison sentence of 10 years, he said.

“We hope that any proposed amendments to the two acts will be passed by the legislature. Last year, we proposed an amendment to the National Security Act aimed at deterring transnational repression, but it has yet to be deliberated,” Liang said.

The council also produced a short film about Hong Konger Tong Wai-hung (湯偉雄), who is on Hong Kong’s wanted list after allegedly inciting people not to vote in the legislative election last year by questioning the fairness of the vote, he said.

Tong and his wife subsequently moved to Taiwan.

His Muay Thai studio in Taipei has been vandalized with paint twice by Hong Kongers posing as prospective customers.

The council has also met with other victims of transnational repression: Guan Jianzhong (管建忠), head of Lion Film and TV Culture Co, which distributed the documentary State Organs (國有器官) in Taiwan, as well as comedian Huang Yi-hao (黃逸豪), Liang said.

The council wanted the public to know that transnational repression exists and remind the government not to allow victims of such acts to feel isolated, he said.

“Ridiculing victims or dismissing them as delusional or overly self-important would only embolden perpetrators and make victims more fearful about their situation,” Liang said, adding that victims have demonstrated considerable courage.