The government has reiterated on many occasions a determination to combat terrorism. President Chen Shui-bian (
While no reason exists to suggest Taiwan is anywhere near the top of the list of terrorist havens, it is true that no government can be over-cautious at a time when a US-Iraq war seems so close at hand. Just about no country in the world is completely immune from the claw of terrorism.
In fact, on Tuesday, the FBI has indicated that "it's a good possibility" that Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network could be channeling money from the Middle East to Asia. According to the FBI, the US government is likely to freeze some accounts or assets in the Asia-Pacific region because of suspected connections to terrorism. Just because the FBI is concerned about funds stemming from Maylaysia, Singapore and Indonesia, this does not mean Taipei can afford to be caught off guard.
Having said that, it does not mean the government should develop a phobia of Middle Easterners or people from Muslim countries, or get paranoid after hearing rumors of terrorist penetration. For example, a Chinese-language newspaper reported on Wednesday that several Taiwanese firms had been tricked into helping Pakistani men obtain visitors' visas. Reportedly, these men pretended to be employees of companies interested in doing business with Taiwanese firms, and they disappeared after arriving in the country.
Although nothing in the report gives reasonable grounds to suspect that these men are linked to terrorism, it was enough to create a sizable stink in the media. PFP lawmakers called for an emergency interpellation, emphasizing that the government is being too lenient on regulating the entry of foreigners. Premier Yu Shyi-kun ordered agencies to investigate the matter and look for unidentified terrorist suspects. Various high-ranking government officials, including Minister of Interior Yu Cheng-hsien (
But, apparently, the only reason for the panic was that individuals involved were Pakistanis. That is hardly a reason to panic. After all, most people from the Middle East or Muslim nations are not terrorists.
Moreover, as a result of all the uproar over the entry of "suspected terrorists," many people probably found out for the first time that there is a so-called "Su-Tung Campaign" (
Yu indicated that the campaign is being stepped up to check the identities and backgrounds of Pakistanis. One cannot help but wonder whether all Pakistanis are being checked or just those who give reason to suspect ties to terrorist groups? If it is the former, that hardly seems right.
Meanwhile, as of April 1, the number of visitors eligible for the 14-day landing visa and an expanded 30-day landing visa will increase. From the standpoint of encouraging tourism, measures such as these are certainly praise-worthy. But, on the other hand, they would also seem to contradict the efforts of the government to keep a tighter watch on suspected terrorists.
One cannot help but wonder if the government's anti-terrorism campaign is going anywhere?
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