Police tightened security around the Taipei Railway Station, the Presidential Office building and the Presidential residence from late on Saturday night to yesterday at noon after messages were posted on a Web site threatening to bomb and set fire to the two locations.
Taipei police said that two messages posted in a chat room on the Yahoo Web site threatened to make the attacks on Saturday at 11pm.
The messages contained instructions on how to make bombs and also said that bombs had been placed at Taipei Railway Station.
Railway sweep
The Railway Police Bureau, informed by security agencies of the threat, initiated a security sweep through the station on Saturday night.
Officers used detectors and police dogs to check suspicious boxes, packages and bags.
Police also body searched some passengers.
Vice director of Taipei Railway Station Wang Ching-hai (
Wang said police did not find anything dangerous.
Emergency deployment
Meanwhile, Taipei police on Saturday night established an emergency command post near the Presidential Office building and the presidential residence.
A number of police and presidential guards were deployed to both locations in case of possible attacks.
Police also searched the areas surrounding the two locations.
The Taipei City Police Department also said that officers in charge of computer crime were undertaking an investigation in an effort to determine who had posted the threatening messages on the Web site.
The perpetrators if they were found, the department said.
Security concerns have been highlighted recently because of the ongoing campaigns against President Chen Shui-bian(陳水扁), including a sit-in that is to be launched by former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) chairman Shih Ming-teh (施明德) that is aimed at pressuring the president to step down.
Recent incidents
On July 27, 44-year-old Chang Han-ming (
Chang, who told police he committed the crime because he was dissatisfied with Chen and his aide's alleged involvement in a series of scandals, has been detained on charges of endangering public safety.
The Taiwan High Court last month also sentenced Kao Pao-chung (
Kao rigged a minivan full of gas canisters explosion and then ignited it. The resulting blast did not injure anyone, but it destroyed two vehicles that were parked next to the minivan.
Kao said that he had committed the crime because of his discontentment with the performance of the DPP government.
RSS