The Anti-Infiltration Act was officially promulgated into law today (January 15, 2020). The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) issued the following statement on the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) related comments, and the Republic of China (ROC) government’s implementation and response measures:
1. The CCP has falsely claimed that the Anti-Infiltration Act is an “unmitigated evil” that will “strangle the free will of Taiwan compatriots” and “deprive Taiwan compatriots of the right to conduct cross-Strait exchanges.” This is completely backwards. It is a fact that the CCP is infamous around the world for its serious infiltration and meddling work in Taiwan. The CCP has repeatedly extended its underhanded political maneuvering into exchange activities. Such vile acts are the culprits damaging the order of exchanges and sabotaging Taiwanese people’s free will. The government has repeatedly stated that the Anti-Infiltration Act is “anti-infiltration” instead of anti-exchange. Only the “infiltration activities” conducted by local collaborators at the instruction or commission of or with financial support from hostile external forces to engage in five “illegal activities” will be subject to punishments. These activities include illegal political donations, illegal canvassing, illegal lobbying, disrupting rallies and assemblies, undermining social order, and spreading disinformation to interfere with elections. The CCP’s repeated attempts to maliciously distort facts and mislead the public in order to polarize and divide the Taiwanese society will only instigate antipathy of the people of Taiwan, and is unhelpful for the positive development of cross-Strait relations.
2. in line with Executive Yuan directives, the MAC, Ministry of the Interior, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Justice, Central Election Commission, SEF, and other units have jointly established the Coordinating Group for Response to Implementation of Anti-Infiltration Act. The group is led by MAC Minister Chen Ming-tong as Chairperson, Deputy Minister Chiu Chui-cheng as Vice Chairperson, and deputy heads of relevant agencies as members. The group's main tasks include strengthening promotion and real-time clarification on the Anti-Infiltration Act to better inform the public of provisions of the law and keep them from unnecessary panic, and making clarifications on related cases so the public can easily distinguish and understand what constitutes legal or illegal behavior under the Act. The group will also continue to track the implementation of the Act, compile information on related cases, and conduct rolling reviews. In case of future needs of amendments to the Act, relevant authorities will take the lead to make proposals per situation in line with normal legislative procedures.
3. The SEF will promptly set up a consulting service window on the Anti-Infiltration Act to swiftly resolve related questions and provide legal consulting services and relevant explanations to ROC citizens doing business, working, studying, or living in mainland China. The SEF will also continue to compile views and related concerns from all sectors and submit all information to the Coordinating Group for Response to Implementation of Anti-Infiltration Act for discussion and handling.