This month there have been two major terrorist attacks, the first being the bringing down of a Russian passenger jet, the second being the coordinated attacks in Paris. Altogether, more than 300 people were killed. These were among the deadliest terror attacks since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in New York, and the whole world is on tenterhooks in their wake, with the US government having released a travel safety warning.
Several days ago, US President Barack Obama addressed a news conference at an ASEAN meeting, just as France, Russia and their allies were carrying out airstrikes on Islamic State positions, and he made a — very rare — reference to Taiwan.
Specifically, he named Taiwan as one of the US’ allies in the Asia-Pacific in the fight against the Islamic State group. The extremists immediately responded with a propaganda video, threatening the US and its allies, in which it posted a Republic of China (ROC) flag along with the US flag. For Taiwanese, that was a shock.
Does that mean that Taiwan will suffer a terrorist attack? Nobody can say for sure. Taiwan is a small nation, content to keep to its small part of East Asia, mainly preoccupied in political in-fighting, and showing little interest in the fighting in the Middle East, the Balkans or other contested areas around the world. However, as a member of the international community, Taiwan has to get involved in some way, and danger is always lurking in the shadows.
Just think of the al-Qaeda-orchestrated attacks in Bali in 2002, leading to 202 deaths and injuring at least 330 people. These were not targeted at Indonesians, they were targeted at European and Australian tourists.
The objective of the attacks was to teach these countries a lesson for supporting the US over its invasion of Iraq.
Taiwan is a friendly nation and a popular destination for tourists. It has been said that the nation’s most beautiful view is the face of its people. The friendliness of Taiwanese is the nation’s greatest asset in attracting tourists. The trouble is, Taiwanese lack an international outlook.
This is where the nation’s biggest weakness lies when it comes to the threat from the Islamic State group.
Taiwanese do not treat all foreigners equally. They tend to treat white Westerners with respect and admiration, but the foreigners they look down on, or even discriminate against, are generally blue-collar workers and spouses from Southeast Asia — or Chinese spouses who might have strong accents.
In the analyses by international media of the Paris attacks, much was made of the fact that France has the largest Muslim population of any nation in Europe, but that this demographic often has to deal with cramped conditions, a low socio-economic status and high unemployment, leaving them vulnerable to radicalization and open to joining terrorist organizations.
The majority of foreign blue-collar workers and foreign spouses in Taiwan are Muslims from Indonesia, but how much do Taiwanese understand about Muslims? Do Taiwanese give these people sufficient respect? In addition, is the verbal abuse netizens often dish out enough to incense the Islamic State group?
The government has a Homeland Security Office, responsible for assisting law enforcement agencies and security departments in the event of a terrorist attack.
This is designed to secure and protect crucial infrastructure and to make sure that it continues to operate in the event of a terrorist attack or a natural disaster.
However, the draft anti-terrorism act — initially drawn up in 2003 — has only completed its first legislative review. So the laws are not yet in place, and the so-called Homeland Security Office must be the least resourced agency of its type — in terms of both staff and operational costs — in the world. It is doubtful that it would be able to carry out its purpose if the hour came.
Look at the US, which has certainly had to deal with its fair share of terrorist threats. After Sept. 11, 2001, it not only established the US Department of Homeland Security and tightened up its laws, the media and schools throughout the country also helped raise people’s awareness of what to do in the event of a terrorist attack.
The police and security forces were also told how to cooperate and how to share intelligence between them. It is absolutely essential that Taiwan puts similar measures in place if it is to avoid the unthinkable happening now that terrorism has become ubiquitous.
Sandy Yeh is secretary-general of the Association of Chinese Police Research.
Translated by Paul Cooper
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