The Executive Yuan of the Republic of China on April 29 proposed to pass the draft amendment to some provisions of the Army, Navy and Air Force Criminal Law, adding that active duty military personnel who leak or deliver military secrets to foreign governments, people, people of mainland China, residents of Hong Kong, Macau or their dispatchers shall be sentenced to up to 12 years in prison, and if absolute secrets are involved, the sentence shall be increased to 1/2.
The current Army, Navy, and Air Force Criminal Law provides that an active duty soldier who leaks or delivers documents, drawings, messages, electromagnetic records, or items that should be kept secret regarding the military of the Republic of China shall be punished by imprisonment for a term of not less than three years and not more than ten years. A wartime offender shall be sentenced to life imprisonment or more than 7 years in prison.
The official pointed out that in the past, it was very difficult to prove that active duty military personnel directly leaked military secrets to the Chinese Communist government, because in practice it is possible to obtain Taiwan’s military secrets through intermediaries, so the law was amended.
The official said that in addition to the original provisions, the new amendment to the law, the active duty military leaked or delivered military secrets to foreign governments, people, people in mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau residents or their dispatch, will be punished by 5 years to 12 years in prison. Those who commit the crime in wartime shall be sentenced to life imprisonment or more than 10 years of imprisonment.
In addition, active duty military personnel leaking or delivering military secrets to the enemy or their dispatchers was originally sentenced to death or life imprisonment, officials said that the amendment to the law will make a distinction between peacetime and wartime, peacetime sentenced to life imprisonment or more than 10 years of fixed-term imprisonment, wartime offenders will only be sentenced to death or life imprisonment.
The so-called enemy, the army, navy and air force criminal law currently provides for war with the Republic of China or force confrontation with the country or group. Officials said the draft in response to the anti-infiltration law on the definition of “foreign hostile forces”, but also added the Republic of China at war or armed confrontation with the “political entity” is also an enemy.
Officials said that in addition to the approved military secrets, the amendment will also be approved as military secrets, but is in the process of reporting the military secrets also into the norm. The new Article 20-1 of the draft, active duty military personnel leaked or delivered to the law ordered to apply for approval as a military secret, punished by up to seven years in prison. If a person commits a crime during wartime, he or she shall be sentenced to imprisonment for a term of not less than 3 years and not more than 10 years.
If a person leaks or delivers to a foreign government, people, people of mainland China, residents of Hong Kong or Macau, or persons dispatched by them, the official said that he/she will be punished by imprisonment for a term of not less than 3 years and not more than 10 years. Those who commit the crime in wartime will be sentenced to life imprisonment or more than 7 years of fixed-term imprisonment. In case of leaking secrets to the enemy in times of war, the heaviest penalty is death.
In addition, a person who spies or collects military secrets that have been submitted for approval in accordance with the law shall be punished by imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years. A person who commits the crime in time of war shall be sentenced to imprisonment for a term of not less than one year and not more than seven years. If the person spies or collects secrets for a foreign government, people, people of mainland China, residents of Hong Kong or Macau, or persons dispatched by them, he shall be sentenced to imprisonment for a term of not less than three years and not more than ten years. Those who commit the crime during wartime will be sentenced to 5 to 12 years of imprisonment.
Officials said that the amendment to the law, if involved in absolute secrets, are increased to 1/2 of the sentence.
According to the military secrets and national defense secrets range of classification guidelines, military secrets level of distinction for absolute secrets, top secret and classified, the difference between the three refers to the leak, enough to make the military operational security or interests suffer very significant damage, significant damage or suffer damage to the matter.
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