The government is to link its Advanced Passenger Information System to systems in the US, Japan and Southeast Asian nations, in a move designed to help prevent terrorists entering Taiwan, with the Taipei Universiade to start on Aug. 19, officials said yesterday.
The system compares passenger lists to customs data to prevent “99.9 percent of all suspect individuals” from entering the nation, officials said, adding that such people would be prevented from boarding flights bound for Taiwan from participating nations.
Although Taiwan is not a member of Interpol and unable to obtain first-hand anti-terrorism information, it has bilateral information sharing agreements with the US and Japan, officials said.
Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Taipei Times
The US helped greatly to assemble a list of terror suspects, Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said.
The system helped Taiwan identify a terror suspect from the United Arab Emirates as the suspect attempted to board a flight from Kaohsiung to Shanghai in 2014, officials said, adding that the suspect was repatriated to their home country.
Athletes, coaches and guests from nations participating in the Universiade are to clear customs as if they were on visa waiver programs, needing only to display their passport and invitation pass distributed by the Universiade organization team, officials said.
Photo: Wu Jen-chieh, Taipei Times
While only Taipei police and police from four other municipalities are to be “officially” on duty during the event, officials said that officers nationwide would be on stand-by.
The government expects protests during the games, as the Legislative Yuan is to hold its third extraordinary meeting by the end of the month, officials said.
On-duty officers would number 5,000, with 2,000 students from the Central Police University and 3,000 students from the Taiwan Police College called in to help.
In the event of large-scale protests or a terror attack, the nation has more than 70,000 police officers in reserve.
Separately, the Coast Guard Administration conducted a large-scale sweep aimed at preventing criminals from smuggling guns, drugs or explosives into Taiwan, Coast Guard 7th Offshore Flotilla Deputy Chief Cheng Wen-hao (鄭文豪) said.
Meanwhile, Ko yesterday afternoon announced a trial run of systems that would be used during the games’ opening and closing ceremonies.
Taipei residents should be aware that several Universiade events would require roads to be closed, Ko said, adding that the city would announce closures in advance.
The Universiade is to be the largest-ever multi-sport event hosted by Taiwan, bringing 11,397 representatives from 131 nations, including 7,639 athletes, the Sports Administration said.
Additional reporting by CNA
CREDIT-GRABBER: China said its coast guard rescued the crew of a fishing vessel that caught fire, who were actually rescued by a nearby Taiwanese boat and the CGA Maritime search and rescue operations do not have borders, and China should not use a shipwreck to infringe upon Taiwanese sovereignty, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said yesterday. The coast guard made the statement in response to the China Coast Guard (CCG) saying it saved a Taiwanese fishing boat. The Chuan Yu No. 6 (全漁6號), a fishing vessel registered in Keelung, on Thursday caught fire and sank in waters northeast of Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台). The vessel left Keelung’s Badouzih Fishing Harbor (八斗子漁港) at 3:35pm on Sunday last week, with seven people on board — a 62-year-old Taiwanese captain surnamed Chang (張) and six
RISKY BUSINESS: The ‘incentives’ include initiatives that get suspended for no reason, creating uncertainty and resulting in considerable losses for Taiwanese, the MAC said China’s “incentives” failed to sway sentiment in Taiwan, as willingness to work in China hit a record low of 1.6 percent, a Ministry of Labor survey showed. The Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) also reported that the number of Taiwanese workers in China has nearly halved from a peak of 430,000 in 2012 to an estimated 231,000 in 2024. That marked a new low in the proportion of Taiwanese going abroad to work. The ministry’s annual survey on “Labor Life and Employment Status” includes questions respondents’ willingness to seek employment overseas. Willingness to work in China has steadily declined from
The Legislative Yuan’s Finance Committee yesterday approved proposed amendments to the Amusement Tax Act (娛樂稅法) that would abolish taxes on films, cultural activities and competitive sporting events, retaining the fee only for dance halls and golf courses. The proposed changes would set the maximum tax rate for dance halls and golf courses at 50 and 20 percent respectively, with local governments authorized to suspend the levies. Article 2 of the act says that “amusement tax shall be levied on tickets sold or fees charged by amusement places, facilities or activities” in six categories: “Cinema; professional singing, story-telling, dancing, circus, magic show, acrobatics
The number of pet cats in Taiwan surpassed that of pet dogs for the first time last year, reaching 1,742,033, a 32.8 percent increase from 2023, the Ministry of Agriculture said yesterday, citing a survey. By contrast, the number of pet dogs declined slightly by 1.2 percent over the same period to 1,462,528, the ministry said. Despite the shift, households with dogs still slightly outnumber those with cats by 1.2 percent. However, while the number of households with multiple dogs has remained relatively stable, households keeping more than two cats have increased, contributing to the overall rise in the feline population. The trend
RSS