Statement by JRF Condemning the Conclusion of Legislative Negotiations on the Communication Security and Surveillance Act

Regarding the conclusion of legislative negotiations on the Communication Security and Surveillance Act (CSSA), our foundation issues the following statement:

I. The DPP exhibited no persistence, compromised entirely, and failed the public trust

1. If the intent was truly to eradicate abusive wiretapping, the wiretapping center should have been abolished and simultaneous monitoring implemented. At a minimum, the wiretap numbers authorized by judges must be cross-referenced with the wiretap numbers recorded by telecommunication operators to ensure genuine oversight. Even if this "globally unique" wiretapping center could not be abolished, it should have been subordinated to another neutral and objective agency, rather than being left entirely under the control of police and investigative authorities. The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) showed no persistence on any of these three points, demonstrating that it was not genuinely committed to ending abusive wiretapping.
2. Furthermore, the DPP did not stand firm on requiring judicial warrants for accessing "communication-line connection records" (bill-of-lading and call records). They even agreed to codify the bad practice in legal practice of applying for wiretap warrants under "miscellaneous investigation cases (ta-tzu cases)," which covertly helps prosecutors and police evade the requirements of the Code of Criminal Procedure, marking a major legislative regression.
3. As for the provision that "one wiretap warrant shall be limited to one person," while it may seem progressive, the negotiated bill still allows multiple wiretap warrants to be applied for simultaneously as long as they involve the same or related cases. This merely increases paperwork—what is the legislative purpose of such a law?
4. As the largest opposition party, the DPP recently vowed to reform the abuses of wiretapping and introduced several versions of amendment bills. Yet, it has ended up in this manner, causing utter disappointment. Such legislative amendments are tantamount to acknowledging the existence of the wiretapping center as a "monstrosity," validating the status of "all-inclusive recording" wiretaps, and implicitly legalizing the abusive wiretapping currently prevalent in practice. The amendments have made the law worse, and amending it is worse than leaving it unchanged!

II. The KMT strongly safeguarded abuse, trampled on human rights, and deserves condemnation

1. The Kuomintang (KMT) defended conservative forces, rejected progressive legislation, strongly safeguarded police and investigative units lacking any concept of human rights, and frequently intimidated the public with claims that "public security will deteriorate." This deserves severe condemnation.
2. What is entirely unacceptable is that the Ministry of Justice also joined in this dance and agitation, ignoring the vocational duty of prosecutors, which is to supervise police and investigative work and protect citizens' rights from arbitrary infringement. Rather than reflecting on how to improve investigative techniques, the Ministry of Justice heavily relies on wiretaps and is willing to infringe upon public rights without hesitation, severely neglecting the role of prosecutors as "guardians of the public interest" in a constitutional state ruled by law!

III. Ever since the Special Investigation Division press conference last September, a series of scandals involving political lobbying, information leakage, abuse of power, wiretapping, and political infighting have unraveled. Now that the political struggle has passed, political rivals have reconciled, and media attention has shifted away, the public—who were inexplicably dragged into the chaos—did not gain any systemic legal progress. How disheartening! Once the storm passes, the two major parties gloss things over, and once again, the entire citizenry is the biggest loser.

Press Contact

Attorney Kao Jung-chih 02-2523-1178