Taipei, Taiwan – The Taiwan power party now demands that its members report their plans before visiting China, including Hong Kong and Macao, in response to growing concerns about Chinese espionage.
Taiwan and China have accused themselves several times of spying, Taiwan arresting several people who, according to him, were recruited by Beijing to collect information or influence public opinion. Beijing generally denies any involvement in espionage activities targeting Taiwan, calling on the accusations “without foundation” or “politically motivated”.
Lai Ching-Te, president and president of Taiwan of the Progressive Democratic Party in power, or DPP, announced on Wednesday that all the members of the party were now to report in advance and submit a follow-up report if they travel to China or have contacts with people related to the Chinese government.
“Any betrayal of the fundamental values of the party for personal purposes must be greeted by strict disciplinary measures and the most difficult legal consequences,” Lai told the weekly party meeting.
In addition to the obligation to report visits to China, LAI has also issued measures such as improved internal education for party members in order to strengthen awareness of national security and legal responsibilities. He also required stricter monitoring of legislative aid and local council, with party caucus responsible for developing specific protocols and training programs.
The movements follow recent Chinese espionage cases against the DPP.
According to Taiwan’s police, a current presidential advisor and a former staff member of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are accused of working together to help DPP members recruited by China collect classified information, including the details of the president and vice-president of Taiwan and official visits to diplomatic allies.
Apart from that, a former DPP assistant to the legislative yuan, the Taiwan parliament, is suspected of having received money and cryptocurrency from Chinese intelligence agencies abroad. He would have provided classified information from the legislative yuan.
“The DPP is a natural target for infiltration,” said Lai about cases, stressing that in recent years, some former party officials have considerably moved their position on national sovereignty after leaving his functions, which he considers the reflection of the long -term infiltration efforts of China.
Ho Cheng-Hui, the deputy secretary general of the Taiwan National Security Institute, said that conventional spy cases involve high-level officials such as a military general or a higher government official, but in recent cases of Taiwan, political aid has become a main target.
With access to sensitive information, government representatives are now potential risks, said HO, adding that new administration measures are a step in the right direction, but “much broader reforms are still necessary.”
“A strict control on classified documents should be applied, ensuring that only authorized persons – ideally only one person – can see such documents,” HO at Radio Free Asia told Radio.
“Aids or secretaries should not be allowed to access. In addition, regular audits and random inspections must be implemented,” said HO, highlighting the need for complete checks of history and access control depending on the security authorization.
Ho also highlighted the importance of “preventive measures”.
“Focusing only on punishment after incidents often means that damage has already been caused,” he said.
Prime Minister of Taiwan, Cho Jung-Tai, said on Thursday that the government would strengthen national security by updating checks of civil servants’ history. A proposal is expected within two weeks, with plans to refine verification according to access to classified data and introduce regular or random examinations.
China considers Taiwan as a province of escape which must possibly meet, even by force if necessary, even if the democratic island has autonomous because it actually separated from continental China in 1949 after the Chinese civil war.
Beijing considers Lai, a defender of independence, as a separatist and increased military exercises, economic pressure and diplomatic isolation to counter his management.
Published by Tajun Kang and Mike Firn.