The government is to link its Advanced Passenger Information System to systems in the US, Japan and Southeast Asian nations, in a move designed to help prevent terrorists entering Taiwan, with the Taipei Universiade to start on Aug. 19, officials said yesterday.
The system compares passenger lists to customs data to prevent “99.9 percent of all suspect individuals” from entering the nation, officials said, adding that such people would be prevented from boarding flights bound for Taiwan from participating nations.
Although Taiwan is not a member of Interpol and unable to obtain first-hand anti-terrorism information, it has bilateral information sharing agreements with the US and Japan, officials said.
Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Taipei Times
The US helped greatly to assemble a list of terror suspects, Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said.
The system helped Taiwan identify a terror suspect from the United Arab Emirates as the suspect attempted to board a flight from Kaohsiung to Shanghai in 2014, officials said, adding that the suspect was repatriated to their home country.
Athletes, coaches and guests from nations participating in the Universiade are to clear customs as if they were on visa waiver programs, needing only to display their passport and invitation pass distributed by the Universiade organization team, officials said.
Photo: Wu Jen-chieh, Taipei Times
While only Taipei police and police from four other municipalities are to be “officially” on duty during the event, officials said that officers nationwide would be on stand-by.
The government expects protests during the games, as the Legislative Yuan is to hold its third extraordinary meeting by the end of the month, officials said.
On-duty officers would number 5,000, with 2,000 students from the Central Police University and 3,000 students from the Taiwan Police College called in to help.
In the event of large-scale protests or a terror attack, the nation has more than 70,000 police officers in reserve.
Separately, the Coast Guard Administration conducted a large-scale sweep aimed at preventing criminals from smuggling guns, drugs or explosives into Taiwan, Coast Guard 7th Offshore Flotilla Deputy Chief Cheng Wen-hao (鄭文豪) said.
Meanwhile, Ko yesterday afternoon announced a trial run of systems that would be used during the games’ opening and closing ceremonies.
Taipei residents should be aware that several Universiade events would require roads to be closed, Ko said, adding that the city would announce closures in advance.
The Universiade is to be the largest-ever multi-sport event hosted by Taiwan, bringing 11,397 representatives from 131 nations, including 7,639 athletes, the Sports Administration said.
Additional reporting by CNA
NO-LIMITS PARTNERSHIP: ‘The bottom line’ is that if the US were to have a conflict with China or Russia it would likely open up a second front with the other, a US senator said Beijing and Moscow could cooperate in a conflict over Taiwan, the top US intelligence chief told the US Senate this week. “We see China and Russia, for the first time, exercising together in relation to Taiwan and recognizing that this is a place where China definitely wants Russia to be working with them, and we see no reason why they wouldn’t,” US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told a US Senate Committee on Armed Services hearing on Thursday. US Senator Mike Rounds asked Haines about such a potential scenario. He also asked US Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lieutenant General Jeffrey Kruse
NOVEL METHODS: The PLA has adopted new approaches and recently conducted three combat readiness drills at night which included aircraft and ships, an official said Taiwan is monitoring China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) exercises for changes in their size or pattern as the nation prepares for president-elect William Lai’s (賴清德) inauguration on May 20, National Security Bureau (NSB) Director-General Tsai Ming-yen (蔡明彥) said yesterday. Tsai made the comment at a meeting of the Legislative Yuan’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, in response to Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Wang Ting-yu’s (王定宇) questions. China continues to employ a carrot-and-stick approach, in which it applies pressure with “gray zone” tactics, while attempting to entice Taiwanese with perks, Tsai said. These actions aim to help Beijing look like it has
China’s intrusive and territorial claims in the Indo-Pacific region are “illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive,” new US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo said on Friday, adding that he would continue working with allies and partners to keep the area free and open. Paparo made the remarks at a change-of-command ceremony at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii, where he took over the command from Admiral John Aquilino. “Our world faces a complex problem set in the troubling actions of the People’s Republic of China [PRC] and its rapid buildup of forces. We must be ready to answer the PRC’s increasingly intrusive and
UNWAVERING: Paraguay remains steadfast in its support of Taiwan, but is facing growing pressure at home and abroad to switch recognition to Beijing, Pena said Paraguayan President Santiago Pena has pledged to continue enhancing cooperation with Taiwan, as he and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida expressed opposition to any unilateral change to the “status quo” in the Taiwan Strait using force, Japanese media reported on Saturday. Kishida yesterday completed a trip to France, Brazil and Paraguay, his first visit to South America since taking office in 2021. After the Japanese leader and Pena spoke for more than an hour on Friday, exchanging views on the situation in East Asia in the face of China’s increasing military pressure on Taiwan, they affirmed that “unilateral attempts to change the