Premier Cho Jung-tai defends military loyalty laws amid salary freeze

Taiwanese Premier Cho Jung-tai has responded to a legislative move to freeze his salary, stating that while personal matters are minor, national security is paramount. The freeze was proposed by Kuomintang legislator Weng Hsiao-ling as part of a broader budget dispute in the Legislative Yuan.

The conflict centers on proposed amendments to the Military Criminal Law. The Executive Yuan’s draft seeks to penalize active-duty military personnel who express loyalty to an enemy, with maximum prison sentences of up to seven years. This aims to address security loopholes regarding soldiers using technology or social media to pledge allegiance to hostile forces.

Legislator Weng Hsiao-ling has argued that the proposed seven-year sentence is disproportionate and violates the principle of proportionality. She has proposed lowering the maximum sentence to five years to balance national defense with freedom of speech. Due to the lack of consensus between ruling and opposition parties, the amendment has been referred back to party caucuses for further negotiation.