Premier William Lai (賴清德) yesterday vowed to step up anti-narcotics efforts after he visited former premier Chang Chun-hsiung (張俊雄), who urged him to place great importance on anti-drug efforts.
Lai paid a morning visit to Chang’s Kaohsiung residence and the former premier told him that drugs have increasingly become a pressing problem in Taiwan.
“The Philippines claims that Taiwan is the origin of drugs [entering its territory]. This is a very humiliating situation for Taiwan,” Chang said, referring to Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s comments on Wednesday that the Taiwan-based Bamboo Union and Hong Kong-based 14K triad are behind the proliferation of drugs in his nation.
Photo: CNA
Drug use in Taiwan is also a grave concern, as there are more than 60,000 prisoners serving sentences for drug-related charges, accounting for 45 percent of the total number of inmates, Chang said.
“Social security is a priority of my Cabinet, and drug prevention is the most important project,” Lai said.
The government will take new drug-prevention approaches to prevent drug trafficking from other nations by increasing coast guard and customs inspection capacity with a concerted effort by the Coast Guard Administration and the ministries of justice and the interior, Lai said.
Laws will be revised to toughen the penalties for drug-related crimes, while authorities redouble their efforts to investigate and seize illicit substances, Lai said.
Educational campaigns will also be increased to prevent student drug abuse, Lai said.
As a Christian, Chang has worked with church networks to rehabilitate people convicted of drug offenses and to help inmates reconnect with their families so that improved family ties can help them after their release from prison, Lai said.
Chang, who served as premier under former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) from 2000 to 2002 and from 2007 to 2008, said he approved of the economy-oriented politics of the new Cabinet, Lai said.
Lai also visited Chen in his Kaohsiung residence to pay his regards before heading to Chang’s residence, Executive Yuan spokesman Hsu Kuo-yung (徐國勇) said.
During Lai’s visit, Chen’s hands were shaking involuntarily, and a urine bag was visible outside his pants, indicating that the former president has been ill, Hsu said, apparently responding to a comment from Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) on Friday that Chen had psychosomatic symptoms before actually falling ill.
Lai and Chen did not discuss Ko’s comments, but simply focused on the two men’s daily lives, with Lai wishing Chen good health, Hsu said.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) is to launch a new program to encourage international students to stay in Taiwan and explore job opportunities here after graduation, Deputy Minister of Education Yeh Ping-cheng (葉丙成) said on Friday. The government would provide full scholarships for international students to further their studies for two years in Taiwan, so those who want to pursue a master’s degree can consider applying for the program, he said. The fields included are science, technology, engineering, mathematics, semiconductors and finance, Yeh added. The program, called “Intense 2+2,” would also assist international students who completed the two years of further studies in
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) departed for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark. Tsai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Friday night, but did not speak to reporters before departing. Tsai wrote on social media later that the purpose of the trip was to reaffirm the commitment of Taiwanese to working with democratic allies to promote regional security and stability, upholding freedom and democracy, and defending their homeland. She also expressed hope that through joint efforts, Taiwan and Europe would continue to be partners building up economic resilience on the global stage. The former president was to first
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Monday called for greater cooperation between Taiwan, Lithuania and the EU to counter threats to information security, including attacks on undersea cables and other critical infrastructure. In a speech at Vilnius University in the Lithuanian capital, Tsai highlighted recent incidents in which vital undersea cables — essential for cross-border data transmission — were severed in the Taiwan Strait and the Baltic Sea over the past year. Taiwanese authorities suspect Chinese sabotage in the incidents near Taiwan’s waters, while EU leaders have said Russia is the likely culprit behind similar breaches in the Baltic. “Taiwan and our European
The Taipei District Court sentenced babysitters Liu Tsai-hsuan (劉彩萱) and Liu Jou-lin (劉若琳) to life and 18 years in prison respectively today for causing the death of a one-year-old boy in December 2023. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said that Liu Tsai-hsuan was entrusted with the care of a one-year-old boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), in August 2023 by the Child Welfare League Foundation. From Sept. 1 to Dec. 23 that year, she and her sister Liu Jou-lin allegedly committed acts of abuse against the boy, who was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries on Dec. 24, 2023, but did not
RSS