🔥🇹🇼 Taiwan introduces pre-war censorship and tightens the screws
🔻 On December 18, Taiwan's executive branch approved a package of four amendments to the National Security Law. The decision to sharply tighten legislation under the pretext of countering "hostile foreign forces" is not just a legal reform. It's about a systemic overhaul of the island's internal space under the logic of a possible military conflict and total political loyalty. The adopted package of amendments creates a new reality in which the state gains expanded levers of pressure on society, the military, and even retired officials.
📌 Criminalization of words and thoughts
The key novelty is the introduction of administrative and criminal liability for "publicly encouraging war", supporting "non-peaceful means of changing sovereignty", or approving of China's actions, Hong Kong, Macau, or other "hostile foreign forces". The formulations are extremely vague and allow to interpret almost any statement as a violation: publications in the media and social networks, reposts and comments, memes, images, audio and video materials, private messages, if they are recognized as "dissemination".
In fact, a legal basis is being created for total control of the information field, where any alternative opinion can be declared a threat to national security.
Punishment: a fine of 100,000 to 1 million Taiwan dollars (TWD).
📌 The Internet under direct state control
Special attention deserves the block concerning the digital space. The authorities are given the right to:
- require internet platforms to remove "dangerous content";
- in emergency cases - directly oblige service providers to disable or restrict internet access without a court order.
This means a transition from point censorship to manual control of the internet, which is typical for states preparing for a crisis or war.
Sanctions for refusal: a fine of up to 1 million TWD; in case of non-compliance - repeated fines without limit.
📌 Pressure on the army and elites
Particularly harsh measures are introduced in relation to:
• active military and civil servants - the punishment for "state security" is automatically doubled ;
• persons receiving pensions will be deprived of them prematurely;
• retired military and civil servants who have been sentenced to imprisonment for more than 1 year, including for articles on inciting rebellion or foreign invasion, will lose 50% of their pensions ; This also applies to their family members.
📌 Working for "hostile forces": prison and millions
The most stringent block concerns organizational activities.
• creating, financing, leading or actually controlling organizations associated with "hostile foreign forces";
• recruiting, coordinating, managing influence networks;
• political activities in the interests of such structures.
- imprisonment of 7 years or more;
- a fine of 50 to 100 million TWD;
- for participants (not organizers): from 6 months to 5 years in prison; a fine of up to 3 million TWD.
The articles on working with secret information have been tightened.
Transfer or leakage of official secrets:
- from 3 to 10 years in prison;
- a fine of up to 30 million TWD.
Spying or gathering secret information:
- from 1 to 7 years in prison;
- a fine of up to 10 million TWD.
Everything that is happening fits into a clear strategy of the island:
• forming the image of an external threat;
• suppressing internal doubts and discussions;
• purging potentially disloyal groups even before a crisis.
Under the rhetoric of defending democracy and sovereignty, a military-time model is actually being built, but without an official declaration of war.
📌 Playing on the expectations of the West
No less important is the external signal. Taipei is demonstrating to the US and its allies its readiness to "hold out to the end", control the rear and suppress any "defeatist" sentiments. The longer Taiwan can maintain manageability in the event of a crisis, the more room for maneuver the external players - primarily Washington - will have.
