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進入《TAIPEI TIMES》 Motion condemning PRC law passes initial hurdle
Lawmakers convene for a plenary session in an undated photograph. Photo: Chen Chih-cheng, Taipei Times
‘ETHNIC UNITY’: The DPP motion recommends amending laws and increasing penalties for those aiding or abetting China, and enhancing protection for citizens and groups
By Jake Chung / Staff writer, with CNA
Lawmakers yesterday voted to send a motion condemning China’s Ethnic Unity and Progress Promotion Law, amend domestic laws to prevent people from aiding and abetting China, and step up collaborations with like-minded international partners to uphold human rights to a second reading.
The Democratic Progressive Party （DPP） on July 3 proposed the motion condemning the Chinese law, which took effect on July 1. However, the opposition alliance blocked the motion.
After cross-party negotiations during yesterday’s plenary session, the opposition Chinese Nationalist Party （KMT） and the Taiwan People’s Party （TPP） agreed to place the motion on the legislative agenda, send it directly to a second reading and refer it to interparty negotiations.
Meanwhile, the Presidential Office yesterday said that authorities would thoroughly investigate suspected cases of transnational repression following media reports that the assault on Taiwan-based political commentator Akio Yaita might have involved members of a Hong Kong triad.
The Chinese-language magazine Mirror Media reported that the attack was allegedly orchestrated by members of the Hong Kong-based Wo Shing Wo （和勝和） criminal organization, with the suspect receiving instructions from overseas.
Presidential Office spokesperson Karen Kuo （郭雅慧） said that prosecutors and police are investigating the incident.
“The government takes very seriously any transnational repression carried out by authoritarian groups targeting dissenting voices around the world,” Kuo told reporters, adding that the government supports a full investigation and is working with like-minded countries to combat cross-border crimes.
As a democratic society governed by the rule of law, Taiwan “will never tolerate any overseas authoritarian forces using gangs, violence or intimidation to oppress or attack anyone who cherishes freedom and democracy in Taiwan,” Kuo said.
Authorities will investigate and prosecute all those involved in accordance with the law, including perpetrators, masterminds and anyone who provided information or assistance to facilitate such crimes, she said.
Yaita, CEO of the Taipei-based Indo-Pacific Strategy Thinktank, is a native of Japan and former journalist who holds Republic of China citizenship. He was allegedly punched in the face by a Hong Kong man after giving a speech at a hotel in Taichung on Tuesday last week.
Police arrested the suspect, surnamed Liu （廖）, later that day at Taichung International Airport as he was attempting to leave Taiwan.
The Mainland Affairs Council has described the case as Taiwan’s first suspected instance of transnational repression since China implemented its ethnic unity law, although prosecutors have not disclosed any evidence linking the assault to the law or other organizations.
The DPP legislative motion said that China’s actions against DPP Legislator Puma Shen （沈伯洋） and its use of state-sponsored media to threaten Taiwanese constituted a great threat to the safety of Taiwanese, as well as the nation’s sovereignty.
The ethnic unity law prohibits “acts that undermine ethnic unity and create ethnic division,” and states that any organization or person within or outside the People’s Republic of China （PRC） that commits such acts would be held legally responsible.
The DPP motion recommends that the Legislative Yuan issues a severe condemnation of the PRC’s abuse of legislation to threaten the personal safety of Taiwanese and silence the international community.
The government should amend laws and increase penalties for those aiding and abetting actions conducted under China’s “ethnic unity law,” and adopt other measures to ensure that citizens, private groups, corporations and academics going to China are in a position to identify risks and protect their own safety, the motion says.
It also called on the government to deepen collaborations with like-minded countries to jointly defend against the expansion of authoritarianism, prevent the undermining of any country’s sovereignty, and uphold human rights.
Additional reporting by Lin Che-yuan and Hollie Younger
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
