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.
The US government has signed defense cooperation agreements with Japan and the Philippines to boost the deterrence capabilities of countries in the first island chain, a report by the National Security Bureau (NSB) showed. The main countries on the first island chain include the two nations and Taiwan. The bureau is to present the report at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee tomorrow. The US military has deployed Typhon missile systems to Japan’s Yamaguchi Prefecture and Zambales province in the Philippines during their joint military exercises. It has also installed NMESIS anti-ship systems in Japan’s Okinawa
TRAGEDY STRIKES TAIPEI: The suspect died after falling off a building after he threw smoke grenades into Taipei Main Station and went on a killing spree in Zhongshan A 27-year-old suspect allegedly threw smoke grenades in Taipei Main Station and then proceeded to Zhongshan MRT Station in a random killing spree that resulted in the death of the suspect and two other civilians, and seven injured, including one in critical condition, as of press time last night. The suspect, identified as a man surnamed Chang Wen (張文), allegedly began the attack at Taipei Main Station, the Taipei Fire Department said, adding that it received a report at 5:24pm that smoke grenades had been thrown in the station. One man in his 50s was rushed to hospital after a cardiac arrest
ON ALERT: Taiwan’s partners would issue warnings if China attempted to use Interpol to target Taiwanese, and the global body has mechanisms to prevent it, an official said China has stationed two to four people specializing in Taiwan affairs at its embassies in several democratic countries to monitor and harass Taiwanese, actions that the host nations would not tolerate, National Security Bureau (NSB) Director-General Tsai Ming-yen (蔡明彥) said yesterday. Tsai made the comments at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, which asked him and Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) to report on potential conflicts in the Taiwan Strait and military preparedness. Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Michelle Lin (林楚茵) expressed concern that Beijing has posted personnel from China’s Taiwan Affairs Office to its
‘ILLEGAL RULING’: The KMT and the TPP slammed the Constitutional Court judgement, saying it contravened the law and was trying to clear the way for a ‘green dictatorship’ The Constitutional Court yesterday ruled that amendments to the Constitutional Court Procedure Act (憲法訴訟法) passed by the Legislative Yuan last year are unconstitutional, as they contravene due legislative process and separation of powers. The Legislative Yuan on Dec. 20 last year passed amendments stipulating that no fewer than 10 grand justices must take part in deliberations of the Constitutional Court, and at least nine grand justices must agree to declare a law unconstitutional. The Executive Yuan on Jan. 2 requested that lawmakers reconsider the bill, but the Legislative Yuan, under a combined majority of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party
RSS