People stealing company secrets from key Taiwanese industries could face up 12 years in prison and a fine of US$3.6 million. That’s under new proposals from the Cabinet that aim to protect Taiwan from economic espionage.
Police gather computers as part of an investigation into the theft of tech secrets. Gone are the days of hidden mics and invisible ink: Taiwan is facing a new kind of espionage.
Cabinet spokesperson Lo Ping-cheng says Taiwanese industries are increasingly becoming targets for infiltration. He says overseas companies are poaching Taiwanese talent to steal secrets of Taiwan’s key industries, and getting away with it, too. That’s why Lo says Taiwan needs to tighten up its national security laws.
The Cabinet is proposing two main changes. First, an amendment to the National Security Act would create a new offense: economic espionage. That would carry a maximum sentence of 12 years and a fine of US$3.6 million. So-called “extraterritorial misappropriation” of trade secrets would also be illegal and come with a maximum jail sentence of 10 years and a US$1.8 million fine.
The second change would affect legislation governing Taiwan-China relations. The proposals would affect people who work for a company involved in Taiwan’s “core strategic industries”. Under the amendment, they would not be allowed to travel to China without government permission within three years of finishing their contract or leaving their job. People who travel without permission would face a fine of up to US$360,000.
Opposition lawmaker Lee De-wei says his party supports the measures.
Ruling party lawmaker Chen Ting-fei says the amendments are necessary and people who break the law should be held accountable.
With a stronger deterrent in place, authorities hope to keep Taiwan’s industrial secrets safe from prying eyes. Staś Butler, RTI News.