All law enforcement agencies have been mobilized to ensure public safety and provide protection for candidates during street canvassing and at major rallies, National Police Agency Director-General Chen Ja-chin (陳家欽) said yesterday as he ordered police to be especially alert against violence that in the past has led to agitation and conflict.
Chen said that over the past few weeks he has convened meetings and visited local precincts to issue orders and implement security measures for the final few days of campaigning and election day.
Police cybersecurity units have been working around the clock to crack down on disinformation and to track down online threats against candidates, he added.
Photo: CNA
Any saboteur or political agitator intending to disrupt the elections would be dealt with severely by the agency and local police, he said at a security task force meeting.
He told all local police chiefs to respond quickly to disruption attempts and to be diligent in ensuring social stability, regardless of the outcome of the elections.
About 68,000 police officers are to be mobilized nationwide today, with several thousand standing by in reserve, to maintain public safety and ensure that voting and ballot counting go smoothly, Public Order Division section head Fan Chih-sheng (范織坤) said.
Security measures for close city and county races, especially Taipei and Kaohsiung, have been upgraded to those used to protect the president and vice president, he said.
Democratic Progressive Party Kaohsiung mayoral candidate Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) and his Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) rival, Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), have over the past few days at all times had at their sides two personal escorts carrying a bulletproof shield, Fan said.
Chen and Han also have two rings of guards consisting of 10 special forces police officers in the inner group and 10 uniformed police in the outer ring, he said.
The agency has implemented extra measures to protect candidates and other politicians at campaign rallies and post-election gatherings, including a detection dog unit and coordination between police units to keep saboteurs and agitators out of restricted areas, he added.
As of press time last night, three major sweeps had been conducted to prevent disorderly conduct, resulting in the arrest of 1,008 people with links to major crime syndicates and local gangs, including wanted criminals and seven people plotting violence against candidates who prosecutors have been investigating, Chen said.
BACK IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD: The planned transit by the ‘Baden-Wuerttemberg’ and the ‘Frankfurt am Main’ would be the German Navy’s first passage since 2002 Two German warships are set to pass through the Taiwan Strait in the middle of this month, becoming the first German naval vessels to do so in 22 years, Der Spiegel reported on Saturday. Reuters last month reported that the warships, the frigate Baden-Wuerttemberg and the replenishment ship Frankfurt am Main, were awaiting orders from Berlin to sail the Strait, prompting a rebuke to Germany from Beijing. Der Spiegel cited unspecified sources as saying Beijing would not be formally notified of the German ships’ passage to emphasize that Berlin views the trip as normal. The German Federal Ministry of Defense declined to comment. While
‘REGRETTABLE’: TPP lawmaker Vivian Huang said that ‘we will continue to support Chairman Ko and defend his innocence’ as he was transferred to a detention facility The Taipei District Court yesterday ruled that Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) be detained and held incommunicado over alleged corruption dating to his time as mayor of Taipei. The ruling reversed a decision by the court on Monday morning that Ko be released without bail. After prosecutors on Wednesday appealed the Monday decision, the High Court said that Ko had potentially been “actively involved” in the alleged corruption and ordered the district court to hold a second detention hearing. Ko did not speak to reporters upon his arrival at the district court at about 9:10am yesterday to attend a procedural
The High Court yesterday overturned a Taipei District Court decision to release Taiwan People’s Party Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) and sent the case back to the lower court. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office on Saturday questioned Ko amid a probe into alleged corruption involving the Core Pacific City development project during his time as Taipei mayor. Core Pacific City, also known as Living Mall (京華城購物中心), was a shopping mall in Taipei’s Songshan District (松山) that has since been demolished. On Monday, the Taipei District Court granted a second motion by Ko’s attorney to release him without bail, a decision the prosecutors’ office appealed
The Executive Yuan yesterday warned against traveling to or doing business in China after reports that Beijing is recruiting Taiwanese to help conceal the use of forced Uighur labor. The government is aware that Taiwan-based influencers and businesses are being asked to make pro-Beijing content and offered incentives to invest in the region, Executive Yuan acting spokeswoman Julia Hsieh (謝子涵) told a news conference. Taiwanese are urged to be aware of the potential personal and reputational harm by visiting or operating businesses in China, Hsieh said, adding that agencies are fully apprised of the situation. A national security official said that former Mainland
RSS