Premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) and National Police Administration Deputy Director-General Hsieh Hsiu-neng (謝秀能) yesterday urged the public to remain calm after four terrorist bombs rocked the British capital London's mass transit system on Thursday, killing at least 50 people.
"As of now, Taiwan is safe. There is no need to panic," the premier said.
He also said that the government for the time being is not planning on listing the UK as a place for tourists to avoid.
"There is no ongoing danger for visitors to the UK, so we are not planning on advising tourists against travelling there," he said.
Hsieh also expressed his sympathies for the victims and their families, and condemned the use of violence as a means of forwarding a political agenda.
"Killing is not right. Definitely not," he said.
The premier said that the current priority for the government was to ensure the safety of Taiwanese representatives and students in the UK.
Also, it is time for the government's law enforcement bodies and other agencies to review existing contingency plans and ensure that the relative branches of government could respond swiftly in the event of a terrorist attack on Taiwanese soil, he said.
When asked whether Taiwan will launch a mechanism to maintain public order after the London bombings, the premier said that there was no need.
"We have certain mechanisms in place in the event of a terrorist attack or during a state of heightened alert, and we follow those procedures whenever needed," the premier said. "Taiwan is still quite safe."
Echoing the premier's remarks, Hsieh Hsiu-neng said that local police officers are all familiar with anti-terrorist mechanisms and would be able to react immediately.
"I cannot reveal the details of the [anti-terrorist] mechanism, but I can assure you that the system is good enough to protect us," Hsieh Hsiu-neng said.
The deputy police chief said that when local law enforcement agencies got word of a bombing, they would immediately begin to tighten the security measures by assigning more officers to patrol the streets.
According to the deputy director-general, an anti-terrorist mechanism was launched in Taiwan after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington. After the mechanism went into effect, law enforcement agencies and other branches of the government have periodically held several anti-terror drills.
"The police are just one part of the anti-terrorism mechanism. We are able to launch crackdown operations against terrorists at any time upon an order from the premier," Hsieh Hsiu-neng said.
Meanwhile, officials with the Ministry of Education yesterday said that no Taiwanese students studying in the UK had been injured in the blasts that ripped through London during rush hour Thursday morning, killing scores and injuring hundreds.
"We haven't heard any reports of Taiwanese nationals as being among the casualties. The [Ministry of Education] is keeping close contact with the Taipei Representative Office in the UK and will report any developments," said Chang Chin-sheng (張欽盛), a ministry official.
Chang said that British officials are still assessing the number of casualties, and the ministry will watch closely and keep in touch with the representative office to ensure that no Taiwanese people were involved.
The ministry called on all Taiwanese students in the UK to pay close attention to any warnings issued by British officials and avoid going to train stations and public places if possible.
They should also keep in touch with their families here. Should students encounter any difficulties, they can contact Taipei representative office in the UK, officials said.
Ministry figures showed that there are currently around 30,000 Taiwanese studying in the UK.
About 5,000 of the students are attending colleges and universities around the country, while around 25,000 are attending language schools.
additional reporting by Mo Yan-chih
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai
Four China Coast Guard ships briefly sailed through prohibited waters near Kinmen County, Taipei said, urging Beijing to stop actions that endanger navigation safety. The Chinese ships entered waters south of Kinmen, 5km from the Chinese city of Xiamen, at about 3:30pm on Monday, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement later the same day. The ships “sailed out of our prohibited and restricted waters” about an hour later, the agency said, urging Beijing to immediately stop “behavior that endangers navigation safety.” Ministry of National Defense spokesman Sun Li-fang (孫立方) yesterday told reporters that Taiwan would boost support to the Coast Guard