The injury yesterday of a military police officer who was guarding the Presidential Office Building by a sword-wielding man highlighted the issue of meaningful defense around the building.
Lawmakers and experts have over the past decade repeatedly warned the government that the building’s security is a grave concern — some have even suggested that the building be relocated.
Located within the Boai Special District (博愛特區), which is home to several ministries and other governmental buildings, the Presidential Office Building is surrounded by pedestrian crossings.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
While the high walls to the left and right of the building deter entry, the front gate is prone to being rammed by vehicles, although the office has implemented measures to prevent such forceful entry after a ramming incident in 2014.
A guard post at the building’s rear door, merely 10m away from a pedestrian crossing, is a weakness in the building’s security perimeter.
It has not always been so. The building that originally housed the Ministry of National Defense — across Boai Road, behind the Presidential Office Building — used to be patrolled by military police before the ministry’s relocation to Dazhi District (大直).
Since its turnover to other government agencies, security on the building’s rear has been greatly diminished.
Another point of note is the protocol for military police using armed force in the face of an armed attack.
While there are clear rules of engagement written in law, in practice it remains to be seen whether they could be carried out.
Considering multiple incidents where police officers were sued by relatives of suspects who were killed by police, the choice of whether to pull the trigger would prove difficult.
Alas, no head of state since former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) has broached the issue of relocating the Presidential Office Building.
The indecision has placed the president’s security staff in a bind, as they are in an area without sufficient defensive depth and are restricted — more by the fear of a public backlash than regulation — from shooting offenders.
It is worrisome that the government is cognizant of the issue, but does nothing to ameliorate it.
Yesterday’s incident should not be seen as an isolated attack by an extremist, but rather as an act of terrorism by neo-Nazi groups in the nation.
By definition, a terrorist attack is an assault carried out on non-combatants — whether individuals, groups or agencies — based on political, religious, racial or other ideologies.
There are certain radical groups in Taiwan that support certain races or political ideologies and would spout pejoratives, such as “Japanese imperialists” or “Japanese slaves,” with extremists even going so far as to state their intention to “gun down the president.”
Such extreme right-wing people and groups are disconnected from the public mainstream, and could be called the Republic of China's version of "neo-Nazis."
They are devoted to fanning hatred against certain racial groups or the government, but are usually not taken seriously as they are too disconnected from reality.
That someone has slashed a military policeman on duty with a samurai sword stolen from the Armed Forces Museum, with the People’s Republic of China flag in his bag, claiming to make a political statement is evidence that these radical extremists are no longer stopping at words.
The government should place greater emphasis on the motives behind the attack and discern whether it was influenced by forces outside of Taiwan.
The government must investigate the attack and should seek to correct the growing confrontations within society based on hate speech.
It should endeavor to prevent the nation and the public from being affected by radical thoughts that came from abroad, which would only incite racial hatred and violent confrontation.
Translated by Jake Chung
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