The government and the military said they are the on alert following an apparent threat the Islamic State (IS) group made through a Twitter post, which featured an illustration of Taipei coming under attack, with the landmark Taipei 101 in flames and several other buildings on fire.
The Ministry of National Defense yesterday said that in the event of an actual attack by the group, the military’s special anti-terrorism units are capable of protecting the nation and its citizens.
“Our military has a number of special operations units that are trained to counter terrorist activities,” ministry spokesperson Major General David Lo (羅紹和) said. “They are fully prepared to take up this task, but the order has to come from the government.”
Screen grab from Twitter
He said the agency in charge is the Executive Yuan’s Homeland Security Office, which will coordinate with other agencies.
The ministry would deploy the anti-terrorism squadron in the Army Aviation Special Forces Command, along with the army’s Altitude Special Service company, two Marine Corps special operations detachment units and one Military Police Special Services Company in the event of an attack.
Lo said the ministry and the National Security Bureau are verifying the authenticity of the threat by the militant group formerly known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant with the help of international communities, and urged the public not to panic.
The tweet from an apparent Islamic State account was posted on Tuesday.
“When Islamic State attack your cities it won’t look nice. By the permission of Allah that day is not far,” user @KhilafahTimes posted in a statement accompanied by a picture of a blazing Taipei 101 and a blackened, smoke-filled cityscape.
Media reports that the Islamic State may be planning an attack on Taipei have stirred up public anxiety and government officials have expressed concern.
Premier Mao Chi-kuo (毛治國) yesterday urged the public not to panic, saying the government has activated its response mechanism to prevent any attack.
The national security system is investigating the authenticity of the Twitter post, Mao said.
“We will keep a constant eye on the issue,” he added.
Asked to comment on speculation that Taipei 101 was targeted by the Islamic State because of the aid the government has provided to refugees from Iraq, Syria and other countries displaced by the group’s attacks in the Middle East, Mao said he was not aware of such rumors, but added: “The provision of humanitarian assistance is a universal value.”
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Taiwan has donated US$7 million to assist refugees in the Middle East through projects carried out in cooperation with the Holy See and non-governmental organizations in recent years.
Taiwan is among 60 coalition partners the US Department of State assembled in October last year to combat the extremist threat.
Representative to the EU Tung Kuo-yu (董國猷) attended the first ministerial-level plenary session for the Global Coalition to Counter the Islamic State held in December last year in Brussels, Belgium, and was among those who signed a joint statement of commitment to defeat the group.
As an international aid provider and peacemaker, the Republic of China has long provided assistance to its allies and nations with which it has good relations whenever humanitarian aid is needed, foreign ministry spokesperson Anna Kao (高安) said.
Asked whether the government has been warned by the US about an attack targeting Taipei 101, Kao said she would not comment on the cooperative exchange of information with a specific nation.
Taipei City Government spokesman Sidney Lin (林鶴明) said that preventing terrorist acts was the responsibility of the central government.
He said it was important to plan for the worst case of any possible disaster and that the city would vigorously respond to any such disaster.
American Institute in Taiwan spokesman Mark Zimmer yesterday said that the US is taking the threat seriously.
The illustration of Taipei 101 in flames was by Belgian digital artist Jonas De Ro; the government is checking whether he has any connection to the Islamic State group. According to Facebook, he visited Taipei this month and posted a photograph of Taipei 101 on Feb. 3.
Additional reporting by Abraham Gerber
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
CHINA POLICY: At the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China, the two sides issued strong support for Taiwan and condemned China’s actions in the South China Sea The US and EU issued a joint statement on Wednesday supporting Taiwan’s international participation, notably omitting the “one China” policy in a departure from previous similar statements, following high-level talks on China and the Indo-Pacific region. The statement also urged China to show restraint in the Taiwan Strait. US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and European External Action Service Secretary-General Stefano Sannino cochaired the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China and the sixth US-EU Indo-Pacific Consultations from Monday to Tuesday. Since the Indo-Pacific consultations were launched in 2021, references to the “one China” policy have appeared in every statement apart from the
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from