Minister of the Interior Lee Hong-yuan (李鴻源) said yesterday that Taiwan should strengthen its anti-terrorism awareness and training after last Friday’s incidents involving explosive devices.
“We should conduct an overall review of our inter-ministerial anti-terrorism operation mechanism in the wake of the recent failed bombings on the high-speed railway and at a legislator’s office,” Lee said on the sidelines of a legislative session.
Lee also said he felt saddened by the bombings at the Boston Marathon on Monday that left three people dead and more than 170 injured, calling them an act of terrorism.
“While terrorist attacks have been rare in Taiwan, we should heighten our alert on terrorism,” Lee said.
In the past, he said, Taiwan has focused mainly on preventing natural disasters.
The Ministry of the Interior would join forces with national security agencies and other government agencies to reinforce the nation’s anti-terrorism mechanisms and response plans, Lee said.
Asked whether security measures would be tightened on the high-speed rail following Friday’s incident, Lee said a balance needs to be worked out before any concrete steps are taken.
“If current security guidelines for commercial air travel were applied to the high-speed rail, passenger-flow systems would have to be redesigned, which would cause a lot of inconvenience,” Lee said, adding that other considerations should also figure in the decision.
At the moment, he said, the most important thing is to determine why the individuals planted the explosive devices on the train.
“Police and prosecutors are investigating whether it was an isolated incident or part of a series of organized terrorist attacks,” he said.
Two men suspected of planting the devices on Friday were taken into police custody on Tuesday.
Hu Tsung-hsien (胡宗賢) and Chu Ya-tung (朱亞東), both in their 40s, traveled to Guangdong Province, China, on Friday soon after allegedly leaving two suitcases containing explosives in a toilet on a high-speed train and two more outside Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lu Chia-chen’s (盧嘉辰) constituency office in New Taipei City (新北市).
None of the devices exploded.
The two men were arrested with the help of Chinese authorities and were repatriated on Tuesday.
WAITING GAME: The US has so far only offered a ‘best rate tariff,’ which officials assume is about 15 percent, the same as Japan, a person familiar with the matter said Taiwan and the US have completed “technical consultations” regarding tariffs and a finalized rate is expected to be released soon, Executive Yuan spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) told a news conference yesterday, as a 90-day pause on US President Donald Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs is set to expire today. The two countries have reached a “certain degree of consensus” on issues such as tariffs, nontariff trade barriers, trade facilitation, supply chain resilience and economic security, Lee said. They also discussed opportunities for cooperation, investment and procurement, she said. A joint statement is still being negotiated and would be released once the US government has made
NEW GEAR: On top of the new Tien Kung IV air defense missiles, the military is expected to place orders for a new combat vehicle next year for delivery in 2028 Mass production of Tien Kung IV (Sky Bow IV) missiles is expected to start next year, with plans to order 122 pods, the Ministry of National Defense’s (MND) latest list of regulated military material showed. The document said that the armed forces would obtain 46 pods of the air defense missiles next year and 76 pods the year after that. The Tien Kung IV is designed to intercept cruise missiles and ballistic missiles to an altitude of 70km, compared with the 60km maximum altitude achieved by the Missile Segment Enhancement variant of PAC-3 systems. A defense source said yesterday that the number of
Authorities have detained three former Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TMSC, 台積電) employees on suspicion of compromising classified technology used in making 2-nanometer chips, the Taiwan High Prosecutors’ Office said yesterday. Prosecutors are holding a former TSMC engineer surnamed Chen (陳) and two recently sacked TSMC engineers, including one person surnamed Wu (吳) in detention with restricted communication, following an investigation launched on July 25, a statement said. The announcement came a day after Nikkei Asia reported on the technology theft in an exclusive story, saying TSMC had fired two workers for contravening data rules on advanced chipmaking technology. Two-nanometer wafers are the most
Taiwanese exports to the US are to be subject to a 20 percent tariff starting on Thursday next week, according to an executive order signed by US President Donald Trump yesterday. The 20 percent levy was the same as the tariffs imposed on Vietnam, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh by Trump. It was higher than the tariffs imposed on Japan, South Korea and the EU (15 percent), as well as those on the Philippines (19 percent). A Taiwan official with knowledge of the matter said it is a "phased" tariff rate, and negotiations would continue. "Once negotiations conclude, Taiwan will obtain a better