President Tsai Ing-wen defended the passage of Anti-infiltration Act during her New Year’s Day speech on Wednesday morning. The anti-infiltration law passed its third, and final, reading on the last day of 2019. The bill was pushed through the DPP-held legislature by lawmakers, with much resistance coming from the opposition Kuomintang and People First Party.
During her speech, President Tsai said that the parameters of the Anti-infiltration Act are grounded in current domestic law. The Anti-infiltration Act aims to curb Chinese intervention in Taiwanese society by prohibiting and punishing those that take funding and direction from China.
Tsai said that the law does not seek to infringe upon freedom or human rights. She also says the bill will not negatively affect economic exchanges. President Tsai said enforcement of the Anti-infiltration Act does not fall on a single individual or government agency. Courts will decide on whether a person’s actions constitute infiltration.