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.
LONG FLIGHT: The jets would be flown by US pilots, with Taiwanese copilots in the two-seat F-16D variant to help familiarize them with the aircraft, the source said The US is expected to fly 10 Lockheed Martin F-16C/D Block 70/72 jets to Taiwan over the coming months to fulfill a long-awaited order of 66 aircraft, a defense official said yesterday. Word that the first batch of the jets would be delivered soon was welcome news to Taiwan, which has become concerned about delays in the delivery of US arms amid rising military tensions with China. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official said the initial tranche of the nation’s F-16s are rolling off assembly lines in the US and would be flown under their own power to Taiwan by way
‘OF COURSE A COUNTRY’: The president outlined that Taiwan has all the necessary features of a nation, including citizens, land, government and sovereignty President William Lai (賴清德) discussed the meaning of “nation” during a speech in New Taipei City last night, emphasizing that Taiwan is a country as he condemned China’s misinterpretation of UN Resolution 2758. The speech was the first in a series of 10 that Lai is scheduled to give across Taiwan. It is the responsibility of Taiwanese citizens to stand united to defend their national sovereignty, democracy, liberty, way of life and the future of the next generation, Lai said. This is the most important legacy the people of this era could pass on to future generations, he said. Lai went on to discuss
OBJECTS AT SEA: Satellites with synthetic-aperture radar could aid in the detection of small Chinese boats attempting to illegally enter Taiwan, the space agency head said Taiwan aims to send the nation’s first low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite into space in 2027, while the first Formosat-8 and Formosat-9 spacecraft are to be launched in October and 2028 respectively, the National Science and Technology Council said yesterday. The council laid out its space development plan in a report reviewed by members of the legislature’s Education and Culture Committee. Six LEO satellites would be produced in the initial phase, with the first one, the B5G-1A, scheduled to be launched in 2027, the council said in the report. Regarding the second satellite, the B5G-1B, the government plans to work with private contractors
MISSION: The Indo-Pacific region is ‘the priority theater,’ where the task of deterrence extends across the entire region, including Taiwan, the US Pacific Fleet commander said The US Navy’s “mission of deterrence” in the Indo-Pacific theater applies to Taiwan, Pacific Fleet Commander Admiral Stephen Koehler told the South China Sea Conference on Tuesday. The conference, organized by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), is an international platform for senior officials and experts from countries with security interests in the region. “The Pacific Fleet’s mission is to deter aggression across the Western Pacific, together with our allies and partners, and to prevail in combat if necessary, Koehler said in the event’s keynote speech. “That mission of deterrence applies regionwide — including the South China Sea and Taiwan,” he
RSS