Former TPP official begins prison sentence for violating Taiwan's Anti-Infiltration Act

Ma Chih-wei, a former spokesperson for the Taiwan People's Party (TPP) in Taoyuan City, has begun her prison sentence of two years and eight months following her conviction under the Anti-Infiltration Act. Ma ran as an independent candidate for legislator in the first constituency of Taoyuan in 2023 and was found to have accepted approximately NT$1.05 million (about $32,000 USD) in funding from China.

The conviction was upheld by the Supreme Court on July 23, making the ruling final. The case has drawn attention from the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Deputy Minister Liang Wen-chieh, who commented that the trial's proceedings were "very interesting" and "a great encouragement" to investigators handling national security cases.

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This case's trial is very interesting and worth discussing more.

Liang explained the nuances of the case, noting that prosecutors found Ma was directed by Chinese individuals identified as "Sister Bing" and "Ah Hao" to collect information and received $19,322 USD in funding. However, the first trial judge initially ruled against the Anti-Infiltration Act charge because "Sister Bing" and "Ah Hao" used aliases and claimed to represent a "certain foundation," leading to doubt about their connection to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

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This is a great encouragement for investigators handling national security cases.

The second trial court, however, took a different approach. It considered that "Sister Bing" and "Ah Hao" instructed Ma to gather extensive information, including smear videos targeting opponents, and covered all her travel and accommodation expenses to China. The court concluded that such actions were consistent with CCP united front operations, thus deeming the foundation as effectively controlled by the CCP and the individuals as CCP operatives. This led to the conviction under the Anti-Infiltration Act.

Liang cited the "duck test" principle used in U.S. jurisprudence – if something looks, sounds, and acts like a duck, it is presumed to be a duck unless proven otherwise. The second trial court applied this logic, inferring that the actions of "Sister Bing" and "Ah Hao" were characteristic of espionage. This approach, affirmed by the Supreme Court, is expected to influence how similar national security cases are handled in the future, providing a significant morale boost to investigators.

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If it looks like a duck, sounds like a duck, and walks like a duck, then it is presumed to be a duck, unless you can prove you are not.