Legislator suggests ways to protect officers

SECURITY ISSUE:
If a legal basis for the AFPSD could be developed, it could prevent military personnel in need of money from falling into infiltration traps, a lawmaker said

• By Chen Cheng-yu / Staff reporter

A legal framework for the operations of the Armed Forces Partner Saving Department (AFPSD, 國軍同袍儲蓄會) should be developed as a strategy to prevent military personnel from incurring debt and becoming susceptible to Beijing’s enticement, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Michelle Lin (林楚茵) said yesterday.

China has been trying to infiltrate Taiwan’s military by offering loans over the past few years, Lin said, adding that there are many online advertisements claiming to offer low-interest loans to military personnel, but these advertisements are aimed at stealing confidential information from the armed forces.

She suggested two strategies to prevent it.

First, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) and the Ministry of Digital Affairs (MODA) should set up a “green channel” and remove the illegal ads, she said.

Second, the legalization process of the AFPSD should be sped up to improve military personnel’s financial security, she added.

There have been cases of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) personnel pretending to be underground banks or betting syndicates, targeting Taiwanese military officers who are in urgent need of money.

In one case, a Marine Corps officer had accumulated a large debt and was approached and recruited by the CCP’s intelligence units. The officer handed over confidential information four times, for the price of NT$170,000 (US$5,178).

The High Prosecutors’ Office has charged the officer with corruption and contravening the National Security Act (國家安全法).

There are many online ads claiming to provide “loan services” or for a “financial adviser for professional soldiers,” misleading military personnel to take loans from them, then demanding that they provide confidential military information when officers are unable to return the money, Lin said.

A report last year revealed that there are many fake ads targeting Taiwan’s military personnel on social media, such as those claiming to “hire nude models,” “offer low-interest loans” and “call for papers, with high rewards,” and requiring military officers to send a copy of their military ID to verify their identity.

Lin said the MODA has already established tacit agreement and communication mechanisms with Meta, Google and many major social media platforms, so the two ministries should set up a green channel and remove any illegal ads.

Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) in a Legislative Yuan meeting said that military officers must receive good security education so that they are alerted when someone asks for their military ID online.

MODA’s green channel mechanism is open to all government agencies, so if an agency legally asks to remove certain content through a green channel, the ministry would deal with it, Deputy Minister of Digital Affairs Herming Chiueh (闕河鳴) said.

The AFPSD was censured by the Control Yuan in 2009 as lacking a legal basis, and mentioned as a problem in the National Audit Office’s annual final report in 2018, Lin said.

After the AFPSD was censured, the MND abolished the relevant regulation, and no progress was made to legalize the AFPSD, causing it to operate as a de facto establishment that was unable to meet demand, she said.

The AFPSD received deposits of up to NT$21.5 billion in the first quarter of this year, meaning its fund is larger than those of many local financial institutions, Lin said.

If a new legal basis could be developed for the AFPSD, it could not only offer loans, but also prevent military personnel who are in urgent need of money from falling into fake loan and infiltration traps, she said.

The National Defense University’s Management College can educate financial management professionals to manage the fund more flexibly, and it would help solve the root of the problem, she said.

As the AFPSD is considered a civil association, the MND should discuss its direction and the Ministry of the Interior should propose amending relevant laws, she said, adding that she hopes the process speeds up.