Taiwan’s parliament passes law against ‘Beijing influence’ ahead of presidential vote

Taiwan passed a controversial bill on Tuesday aimed at countering China’s “influence” on the self-ruled island. The move comes less than two weeks before Taiwan holds the polls to elect a new president.

The “anti-infiltration bill,” pushed by President Tsai Ing-wen’s Beijing-skeptic ruling party, bans “hostile” foreign forces from activities such as campaigning, lobbying, making political donations or spreading disinformation related to elections. Violators face a maximum five-year prison term and a fine of up to around $332,000, AFP said.

Supporters from pro-China political parties protested outside the parliament, calling lawmakers to withdraw what they see as legislation that “ruins” cross-Strait exchanges.

Beijing said last week the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) was trying to “blatantly reverse over” democracy with the bill, Reuters reported.