23 pieces of legislation｜Bill gazetted rebellion and treason, punishable by life imprisonment, 14 years in prison for failure to report knowledge of treason｜Yahoo
[Yahoo News Report]The government announced at 8:00 this morning (8th),Gazetted the “Draft on the Maintenance of National Security”. The total length of the document is 212 pages.
The draft mentions that “treason”, “rebellion”, “crimes of sabotage activities that endanger national security” involving collusion with foreign forces, and inciting members of the Chinese armed forces to rebel are punishable by up to life imprisonment. As for the crime of concealment, the maximum penalty is 14 years in prison.
Those who illegally disclose state secrets may be jailed for up to 10 years. Even those who merely possess state secrets can be sentenced to 3 years in prison, and those with the intention of endangering national security can be sentenced to 5 years in prison.
Incitement and collusion with foreign forces may lead to a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison
Offenses related to seditious intent are punishable by up to 7 years in prison; crimes related to seditious intent involving the element of “collusion with foreign forces” are punishable by up to 10 years in prison. Possession of seditious documents or articles carries a maximum penalty of 3 years’ imprisonment.
In contrast to the current Crimes Ordinance, the maximum penalty for first conviction for seditious writing is 2 years’ imprisonment; for first conviction for seditious publications, the maximum maximum penalty is 1 year’s imprisonment.
Treason carries a life sentence
Penalties for incitement increased significantly
The magistrate may authorize the extension of detention for 14 days
In the law enforcement powers and litigation procedures related to safeguarding national security, if the magistrate is satisfied, the magistrate can authorize the extension of the arrestee’s detention without being prosecuted, and extend the detention period for 7 days after the original 48-hour detention period; 7 After the date expires, it can be extended one more time.
In other words, the relevant person can take up to 16 days (48 hours + 7 days + 7 days) to be prosecuted and brought to court.
The right to refuse the person under investigation or arrest to consult a lawyer
In addition, depending on the circumstances, officers at the level of Chief Superintendent or above may request the magistrate that the arrested person shall not consult a lawyer while in custody. Even if the relevant person has not been arrested and is being investigated by law enforcement agencies, the police can also apply for a warrant requiring the person under investigation not to consult a lawyer.
Digging up information on national security law enforcement officers can lead to 7 years in prison
The draft document also has provisions to protect those who perform work in safeguarding national security. The provisions state that illegal disclosure of personal information of relevant persons and their family members is prohibited, and offenders may be jailed for 7 years. In addition, the bill also proposes to prohibit harassment of personnel handling national security cases. If the person causes the other party to feel frightened, distressed or causes psychological harm, he or she may be sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Responsibility for measuring “public interest” not clarified
In the section on crimes related to state secrets, the draft mentions the “public interest” exemption clause. The draft states that “taking into account the overall circumstances of the case, the public interest taken care of by making the disclosure clearly outweighs the public interest taken care of by not making the disclosure”; however, it does not yet mention the criteria for determining the weight of “public interest”. Who is responsible?
It is proposed to amend the law to make national security prisoners in jails not entitled to commutation of their sentences unless approved, with retroactive effect
In addition, people who are currently in prison for national security crimes will also be affected by this legislation. Today’s draft document proposes amending the legislation to specify that prisoners who violate national security shall not have their sentences commuted unless the Director of Correctional Services is satisfied that “the prisoner’s commutation will not be detrimental to national security.” It is worth noting that the amendments apply to the sentences of specified prisoners whether they are imposed before, on or after the commencement date of the subsection. In other words, there is a chance that persons currently in custody for national security crimes will not receive one-third of their sentence reduction.
Definition of “foreign forces”
The draft also provides a definition for “foreign forces”. The draft refers to foreign governments, overseas regional or local authorities, overseas political parties, other overseas organizations pursuing political purposes, international organizations, affiliated entities of any of the aforementioned governments, authorities, political parties or organizations, as well as any of the aforementioned governments, authorities Individuals associated with , political parties, organizations or entities are all “foreign forces”.
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2024-03-08 06:12:34
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