News
Tougher penalties for economic espionage
The cabinet has approved draft amendments to the National Security Act aimed at making economic espionage a crime punishable by a prison term of up to 12 years and a fine of NT$100 million.
A provision has also been added to amendments which set a punishment of up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to NT50 million for extraterritorial misappropriation of trade secrets in key technologies.
The cabinet has also approved a draft amendment to the Act Governing Relations between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area to try and keep Chinese capital from infiltrating Taiwan.
That proposed amendment stipulates that Taiwanese companies which are found to be a front for Chinese firms or lending their licenses to Chinese for making unauthorised investments in Taiwan will face a fine of up to NT$25 million.
The cabinet approval of the bills comes after Premier Su Tseng-chang warned that infiltration of the island's high-tech sector by China's "red supply chain" has become increasingly serious in recent years.
The draft amendments have now been sent to Legislative Yuan for review.
