“From the standpoint of national security, more caution is better than less,” he said. “As long as it does not waste too many resources or cause too much trouble for the public and the military can always view it as a drill to enhance their vigilance.”
While some Democratic Progressive Party lawmakers said Ma’s decision to activate the security mechanism immediately after the incident was overreaction, C.V. Chen (陳長文), president of the Red Cross Society of the Republic of China, came to Ma’s defense, saying that Taiwan cannot afford to be negligent in its response to international incidents.
In an opinion piece in the United Daily News on Tuesday, Chen said snap policy decisions should not be judged with hindsight.
“It is not right to criticize the government’s cautiousness as an overreaction, because at that time the situation was not clear … as a matter of fact, although the government activated the national security mechanism, it did not instruct the military to elevate its defense alert level,” he wrote.
“We can look at this matter from a different angle: If the government had not reacted at all when it learned of the incident, what would these critics have said? Probably the government would have been accused of being insensitive and negligent … this highlights the dilemma that the administration faces, as there are critics who will find fault with whatever it does” he continued.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY CNA
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