Minister of the Interior Yeh Jiunn-rong (葉俊榮) yesterday praised law enforcement agencies for their efforts in a major nationwide initiative to crack down on extortion gangs, underground syndicates and gambling operations that has resulted in the apprehension of more than 1,500 suspected criminals, partially in response to violent incidents at public hearings.
“We will have ‘zero tolerance’ for gang violence. The government must establish its authority in upholding public safety and clamp down on criminal activities,” Yeh said at the Criminal Investigation Bureau’s headquarters in Taipei, while surveying the results of coordinated raids.
“Groups of gangsters were identified at several recent protests that turned violent, disrupting public hearings on important issues,” Yeh said. “Evidence showed that they posed as civic organizations, but they have followed their own political agenda of interfering and subverting the democratic process.”
Photo: Chen Yi-yun, Taipei
“We must prosecute them to the full extent of the law to maintain the safety and well-being of our society,” he added.
The crackdown has been a significant success, bureau Deputy Director Chi Ming-mo (紀明謀) said, adding that authorities had arrested six high-ranking members of two of the nation’s most notorious organized crime groups, including Chen Tzu-chun (陳子俊) of the Four Seas Gang (四海幫) and Chen Mu-sen (陳木森) of the Bamboo Union (竹聯幫).
The operation involved 6,470 police officers in raids of 164 locations linked to gang activities, Chi said, adding that a total of 108 suspects had been arrested.
Photo: courtesy of New Taipei City Police Department
A total of 5,889 police officers participated in other operations in all of the nation’s counties and major cities that targeted gambling dens and betting pools, major sources of income for Taiwanese gangsters and organized crime groups, officials said.
Those raids resulted in the capture of 106 suspects from illegal gambling dens, 50 from illegal sports betting pools, 692 from underground Mark Six lottery operations, 513 at illegal casinos and 79 from other forms of gambling activities, they added.
Police apprehended members of two large online gambling networks, Tao Gin (淘金網), operator of w3.tg777.net, and Jiou Zhou Entertainment (九州娛樂網), which runs tx5588.com, both of which allegedly received bets from people in Taiwan, China, Hong Kong and Macau, officials said.
Accompanying Yeh at the event was National Police Agency Director-General Chen Kuo-en (陳國恩).
A number of lawmakers and pundits have called for his removal over a perceived neglect of his duties, a lack of police initiatives to prevent violence at public hearings and not actively pursuing the capture of known criminals after such incidents.
Taiwan is gearing up to celebrate the New Year at events across the country, headlined by the annual countdown and Taipei 101 fireworks display at midnight. Many of the events are to be livesteamed online. See below for lineups and links: Taipei Taipei’s New Year’s Party 2026 is to begin at 7pm and run until 1am, with the theme “Sailing to the Future.” South Korean girl group KARA is headlining the concert at Taipei City Hall Plaza, with additional performances by Amber An (安心亞), Nick Chou (周湯豪), hip-hop trio Nine One One (玖壹壹), Bii (畢書盡), girl group Genblue (幻藍小熊) and more. The festivities are to
Auckland rang in 2026 with a downtown fireworks display launched from New Zealand’s tallest structure, Sky Tower, making it the first major city to greet the new year at a celebration dampened by rain, while crowds in Taipei braved the elements to watch Taipei 101’s display. South Pacific countries are the first to bid farewell to 2025. Clocks struck midnight in Auckland, with a population of 1.7 million, 18 hours before the famous ball was to drop in New York’s Times Square. The five-minute display involved 3,500 fireworks launched from the 240m Sky Tower. Smaller community events were canceled across New Zealand’s
‘IRRESPONSIBLE’: Beijing’s constant disruption of the ‘status quo’ in the Taiwan Strait has damaged peace, stability and security in the Indo-Pacific region, MOFA said The Presidential Office yesterday condemned China’s launch of another military drill around Taiwan, saying such actions are a “unilateral provocation” that destabilizes regional peace and stability. China should immediately stop the irresponsible and provocative actions, Presidential Office spokeswoman Karen Kuo (郭雅慧) said, after the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) yesterday announced the start of a new round of joint exercises around Taiwan by the army, navy and air force, which it said were approaching “from different directions.” Code-named “Justice Mission 2025,” the exercises would be conducted in the Taiwan Strait and in areas north, southwest, southeast and east of Taiwan
UNDER WAY: The contract for advanced sensor systems would be fulfilled in Florida, and is expected to be completed by June 2031, the Pentagon said Lockheed Martin has been given a contract involving foreign military sales to Taiwan to meet what Washington calls “an urgent operational need” of Taiwan’s air force, the Pentagon said on Wednesday. The contract has a ceiling value of US$328.5 million, with US$157.3 million in foreign military sales funds obligated at the time of award, the Pentagon said in a statement. “This contract provides for the procurement and delivery of 55 Infrared Search and Track Legion Enhanced Sensor Pods, processors, pod containers and processor containers required to meet the urgent operational need of the Taiwan air force,” it said. The contract’s work would be
RSS