President Chen Shui-bian (
"We want to seriously condemn those who perpetrated or instigated this act of terrorism in Bali. Our government is willing to send medical or rescue teams to Bali, if the Indonesian government asks Taiwan's assistance," he said.
He also sought to reassure the nation's citizens and foreign residents that the government's anti-terrorism mechanism will serve as an effective deterrent against attacks on Taiwan's soil.
PHOTO: REUTERS
"The national security and anti-terrorism mechanism -- which was established after the United States experienced the horrible attacks of September 11 last year -- is closely monitoring developments in the international situation around the clock," Chen said. "The public should not be worried about the country's security."
Among the security measures that have been taken are increased security checks at the nation's airports, additional police protection at US companies and institutions and the armed forces have been placed on a second-degree alert.
Places where foreigners gather are also being watched more closely and security has been increased at the nation's nuclear power plants and oil refineries.
Meanwhile, responding to criticism from the opposition camp that the government failed to act on intelligence it received before the attack, Cabinet Spokesman Chuang Suo-hang (莊碩漢) said yesterday that the Executive Yuan decided not to publicize the information to avoid unnecessary speculation and panic.
Chuang said the government on Friday had received intelligence that a terrorist attack could soon occur somewhere in Southeast Asia.
"I believe most countries receiving such a warning would opt for concealing the information to ensure social stability and we're no exception," Chuang told reporters at the Executive Yuan yesterday afternoon. He did not identify the source of the information.
Although the warning did not specify which country would be targeted, it did mention that possible targets were overseas US representative offices, especially those located in Southeast Asian countries where there is a large Muslim population.
According to Chuang, the premier learned of the news at around 6pm on Friday. A meeting was called at 7pm and a consensus was reached to activate the nation's anti-terrorism response mechanism, which is overseen by the Cabinet and National Security Council.
"We may include this incident in the government's risk evaluation report but it will not change the direction of our policy," Chuang said.Also See Story:
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