Huang Kuo-chang, chairman of Taiwan’s opposition Taiwan People’s Party, has been sued on two consecutive days, accused of allegedly leaking national defense secrets and potentially facing up to seven years in prison.
According to comprehensive reports by Taiwanese media, on the 19th, Huang Kuo-chang attended a closed briefing meeting of the Legislative Yuan's Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee regarding the Ministry of National Defense's NT$1.25 trillion (RM160.148 billion) arms procurement. He allegedly took classified documents provided by the Ministry of National Defense out of the meeting room, sparking controversy.
Zhang Mingyou, a DPP (Democratic Progressive Party) Taipei City Zhongzheng and Wanhua district councilor candidate, together with lawyer Zhan Jin-jian, went to the Taipei District Prosecutors Office on the morning of the 20th to file a complaint against Huang Kuo-chang for violations of the National Security Act and the Criminal Code related to leaking secrets. The Taipei District Prosecutors Office has completed the case allocation and appointed chief prosecutor Zhang Jingxun to investigate.
Zhan Jin-jian stated that Huang Kuo-chang’s actions were not merely procedural negligence but involved serious legal issues concerning whether it was illegal to possess, remove, or access classified defense documents. According to the law, it is necessary for judicial authorities to intervene to clarify the facts and determine responsibility. Even if the documents were ultimately recovered, it does not mean that the process itself was not illegal.
Huang Kuo-chang is accused of taking classified documents out of the meeting room during Monday's confidential meeting of the Legislative Yuan’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee and lingering for 42 seconds in a surveillance blind spot. On the 22nd, DPP Legislative Yuan caucus secretary-general Chen Peiyu and lawyer Huang Diyi filed another complaint at the Taipei District Prosecutors Office for violations of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act and the Criminal Code related to leaking national defense secrets.
Huang Diyi said that this case is not simply a procedural violation; Huang Kuo-chang was not a committee member yet attended and removed classified documents. He attempted to downplay the facts by stating it was “only 30 seconds,” but this did not match the surveillance records and clearly violated common sense and confidentiality obligations.
Huang Diyi stated that under the Classified National Security Information Protection Act, ordinary leaking of secrets is punishable by imprisonment for more than 1 year and up to 7 years, with negligent leaking punishable by up to 2 years. Under the Criminal Code, leaking national defense secrets also carries a penalty of more than 1 year and up to 7 years, and up to 2 years for negligent leaks. The nature and statutory penalties of the case are both quite serious.
Responding to the accusations, Huang Kuo-chang stated that at the time, he walked to the pantry and realized he had accidentally taken the documents, and immediately returned to the committee to hand them back. The whole process only took about 30 seconds, and there was no so-called document retrieval incident. He criticized the DPP for hyping up the issue.
Regarding the consecutive lawsuits, Huang Kuo-chang questioned whether the DPP even knew which statutes they should use in their accusations, and advised what he called “these legal illiterates” not to keep embarrassing themselves. He said that after the prosecutor issues a non-prosecution decision, the DPP should not try to hide.