Taiwan has been in the sights of Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda terrorist organization at least four times since August, the National Security Bureau (NSB) revealed yesterday.
"We have been notified of the possible threat through various channels. Loosely-guarded facilities like Taipei's Sungshan airport are likely targets," NSB deputy director Huang Lei (
PHOTO: CHIEN JUNG-FENG, TAIPEI TIMES
Huang made the revelation at a meeting of the legislature's defense committee in response to a question from People First Party (PFP) lawmaker Lin Yu-fang (
Lin said he was happy that the NSB had confirmed the rumors about an al-Qaeda threat, but expressed concern about the military's ability to counter terrorist attacks.
Officials said the NSB had been notified of al-Qaeda's plans by countries that have intelligence exchange agreements with Taiwan. Israel is one of these countries, the officials said. The bureau did not comment on the military's ability to handle a possible threat.
Huang said the Sungshan airport was a likely target due to its lax security.
Although rumor has it that Taipei's new landmark, the Taipei 101 skyscraper, has been considered by al-Qaeda as a target for revenge attacks due to Taiwan's support for the US anti-terror campaign, Huang gave no hint whether this was the case.
Taiwan used to have several elite units dedicated to fighting terrorism, but these units have either been deactivated or greatly scaled down as part of the "Chingshih" personnel streamlining project between 1997 and 2000.
The units were small but highly combat-capable, and were attached to the army, military police and navy. Following the Sept. 11 terror attacks in the US more than two years ago, these once-forgotten special services units became useful once again in the eyes of military leaders.
Over the next few years these units will be restored to their original size, or even expanded.
The navy's special services unit is expected to be reinforced by a bomb disposal unit. The bomb disposal unit is an elite force modeled on a unit in the US navy.
US President Donald Trump said "it’s up to" Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) what China does on Taiwan, but that he would be "very unhappy" with a change in the "status quo," the New York Times said in an interview published yesterday. Xi "considers it to be a part of China, and that’s up to him what he’s going to be doing," Trump told the newspaper on Wednesday. "But I’ve expressed to him that I would be very unhappy if he did that, and I don’t think he’ll do that," he added. "I hope he doesn’t do that." Trump made the comments in
NOT AN OPENING: Trump’s violation of international law does not affect China’s consideration in attacking Taiwan; Beijing lacks capability, not precedent, an official said Taiwanese officials see the US’ capture of the president of Venezuela as a powerful deterrent to Beijing’s aggression and a timely reminder of the US’ ability to defeat militaries equipped with Chinese-made weapons. The strikes that toppled Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro signaled to authoritarian leaders, including Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), US President Donald Trump’s willingness to use military might for international affairs core to US interests, one senior official in Taipei’s security circle said. That reassured Taiwan, the person said. Taipei has also dismissed the idea that Trump’s apparent violation of international law could embolden Beijing, said the official, who was not
A cold surge advisory was today issued for 18 cities and counties across Taiwan, with temperatures of below 10°C forecast during the day and into tonight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. New Taipei City, Taipei, Taoyuan and Hsinchu, Miaoli and Yilan counties are expected to experience sustained temperatures of 10°C or lower, the CWA said. Temperatures are likely to temporarily drop below 10°C in most other areas, except Taitung, Pingtung, Penghu and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties, CWA data showed. The cold weather is being caused by a strong continental cold air mass, combined with radiative cooling, a process in which heat escapes from
Snow this morning fell on Alishan for the first time in seven years, as a strong continental cold air mass sent temperatures plunging across Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The Alishan weather station, located at an elevation of about 2,200m in central Taiwan, recorded snowfall from 8:55am to 9:15am, when the temperature dropped to about 1°C, the CWA said. With increased moisture and low temperatures in the high-altitude Alishan area, the conditions were favorable for snow, CWA forecaster Tsai Yi-chi (蔡伊其) said. The last time snow fell at the Alishan weather station was on Jan. 10, 2018, while graupel fell there
RSS