Kuomintang legislator Weng Xiaoling claimed during an inquiry in the Legislative Yuan yesterday that the CCP's cross-border suppression cannot be determined just because the people involved are from mainland China. Justice Minister Zheng Mingqian countered that several recent cases of cross-border suppression, such as the case in which comedian Huang Yihao was injured, were all caused by the involvement of foreign forces. Scholars have criticized that if congressional supervision only involves questioning the separation of responsibilities for the Chinese government, this would be a dereliction of duty on the part of legislators.
Minister of Justice: Recent cases involve the involvement of foreign forces
When Weng Xiaoling questioned the Minister of Justice, she said that in the case of cross-talk actor Huang Yihao, everyone has discussed the judicial investigation of cross-border suppression. She would like to emphasize that the New Taipei District Prosecutor's Office is now investigating cases involving foreigners planning fake car accidents to injure specific people in Taiwan. They may be suspected of being funded by Chinese nationals to use fake car accidents to injure people who criticize the Chinese Communist regime. However, Article 161 of the Criminal Procedure Law stipulates that prosecutors should bear the burden of proof for the defendant’s criminal facts. Did the prosecutors use words such as "reasonable suspicion" or "not ruled out" to arbitrarily and unilaterally determine the case as a cross-border suppression by the CCP without clear legal definition?
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Weng Xiaoling questioned, does taking instructions from mainland Chinese people mean being instructed by the Chinese government or the Communist Party? There are still some gaps in between. Zheng Mingqian responded that the New Taipei District Prosecutor's Office has traced the source and traced it to the Chinese Communist Party using cross-border means to direct our country's lawless elements to use violent means to suppress it. The court has made a ruling to detain the person, and will only detain the person if the determination is clear.
Weng Xiaoling also said, will this mean that as long as any mainland Chinese person is considered to be the perpetrator in the future, we can presume that there will be cross-border suppression? Zheng Mingqian responded that this part needs to be determined on a case-by-case basis. The court will review any application for compulsory punishment, and the court will support it; if the prosecutor does not provide evidence, the judge will reject it at the first level.
Hong Puzhao, director of the Global Strategy and Democratic Resilience Research Center at Taipei City University, said in an interview yesterday that as a legislator, Weng Xiaoling should be concerned about how to strengthen the mechanism to prevent cross-border repression through legislative amendments and ask the government to investigate cases in which foreigners are suspected of financing and instigating violent harm in Taiwan. Overseas funding and command networks protect the Taiwanese people from the threat of political violence. However, she focused on questioning the relationship between the Chinese individuals involved in the case and the Chinese government. She even criticized the government's too narrow understanding of foreign hostile forces and did not put forward specific requirements on how to strengthen the prevention mechanism.
Hong Puzhao criticized that the threat of cross-border repression does not disappear just because the behind-the-scenes command relationship has not been identified. In the face of foreign forces suspected of planning political intimidation and violent harm, the Legislative Yuan should require the government to propose preventive countermeasures, and at the same time actively review and amend existing laws to strengthen prevention loopholes. If congressional oversight only involves questioning the separation of responsibilities for the Chinese government, but does not take concrete actions to protect the people of Taiwan, this is a dereliction of duty as a legislator.
