The National Security Bureau (NSB) yesterday rejected a report that National Security Council Secretary-General King Pu-tsung (金溥聰) suggested that the military should intervene in and handle major demonstrations.
King was accused of overreaching his authority earlier this month when he visited the National Police Agency and the Ministry of Justice’s Investigation Bureau.
King, in a meeting with unnamed officials, was reported by the officials as asking police to toughen up in dealing with mass demonstrations, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chiu Yi-ying (邱議瑩) said yesterday.
Photo: Taipei Times
In the face of large protests, the Ministry of National Defense should set up a command center to coordinate security missions, Chiu reported his sources as saying.
King allegedly added that military officials should be able to enter the police agency to direct security tasks.
Agency officials said that the officials at the meeting were surprised at King’s remarks, Chiu said.
“King infringed on the Constitution and now he is turning Taiwan into a military state,” Chiu said, accusing the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government of regarding the public as enemies.
The bureau rebutted the report in a press statement later yesterday.
It said that suggestions were made by NSB Director-General Lee Hsiang-chou (李翔宙) who accompanied King to the meeting, in light of the incident on Jan. 25 in which truck driver Chang Te-cheng (張德正) allegedly drove his vehicle past barriers and up the front steps of the Presidential Office Building.
The statement said that Lee had suggested police should establish advanced warning, intelligence-gathering, and reporting and communications systems, as well as an inter-departmental coordination system to prevent similar incidents.
King did not say that the military should handle security issues during demonstrations, it said.
The statement reiterated that King’s visits were in accordance with the bureau’s Organic Act (國家安全局組織法) and the National Intelligence Services Act (國家情報工作法), which say that the bureau is responsible for directing and supporting intelligence and security agencies.
The police said in a statement that public demonstrations are handled by police in accordance with the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法), and that King did not say that the military should take part in handling rallies.
Military spokesman David Lo (羅紹和) said yesterday that the military did not receive such orders as Chiu had reported.
STRATEGY TWEAK: Arrivals to Taiwan testing positive for COVID-19 are to be escorted to an ambulance via a special exit and hospitalized, the health minister said Starting today, arrivals on long-haul flights must wait for the results of COVID-19 tests before finishing airport entry procedures, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said yesterday. The center also reported six locally transmitted cases of COVID-19, possibly linked to the airport cluster, and 26 imported cases. As more than two dozen local COVID-19 cases have since Monday last week been reported among workers at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and their close contacts, as well as a few people likely linked to them, the center on Sunday said that entry quarantine procedures would be revised. Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中),
SEARCH CONTINUES: The fighter jet disappeared from radar screens at 3:23pm, about 30 minutes after it took off, air force Major General Liu Hui-chien said Search-and-rescue teams yesterday searched for an air force pilot after his F-16V Block 20 jet went missing during an afternoon bombing exercise near the coastline of Chiayi County’s Dongshih Township (東石鄉), the air force said. The search continued as of press time last evening. The single-seat jet (serial number 6650) disappeared from radar screens at 3:23pm, about 30 minutes after it took off from Chiayi Air Base, air force Inspector General Major General Liu Hui-chien (柳惠千) told a news conference in Taipei. All F-16Vs are temporarily suspended from exercises pending the completion of emergency checks on the fleet, he said. The fighter piloted by
LUNAR NEW YEAR: The nation is expecting 4,200 international travelers to arrive today and 3,900 tomorrow, as people return home for the holidays, the CECC said The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday said it expects imported cases of COVID-19 to further increase today and tomorrow — the peak period for international arrivals before the Lunar New Year holiday. The nation has seen more imported cases of COVID-19 since it implemented a new policy on Tuesday requiring travelers on long-haul flights to undergo a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test upon arrival. Those who test positive are taken directly to hospitals from airports. Most of the recent confirmed cases of COVID-19 were travelers arriving from the US, CECC data showed. On Tuesday, 58 of the 625 travelers arriving at Taiwan
TRACEABLE: The expansion of a cluster infection appears to be slowing, as genome sequencing results show a clearer link among confirmed cases, Chen Shih-chung said The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday reported 96 COVID-19 infections: four domestic and 92 imported cases. Three of the domestically transmitted cases are bank workers likely linked to previously reported airport clusters, it added. Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center, attributed the high number of imported cases in part to the implementation on Tuesday of a tighter entry policy. Travelers arriving on long-haul flights are immediately tested for COVID-19 upon arrival and must wait for results of their rapid polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests on site. Those who test negative are allowed to proceed with normal
RSS