A Taipei City Councilor yesterday lambasted the Taipei police for failing to stem the unauthorized use of pinhole cameras to make pornographic DVDs.
Referring to the availability of pinhole cameras, DPP city councilor Wang Po-yu (王博昱) asked the police to acquire more up-to-date detection devices, "in order to effectively strengthen public security and to protect the general public, especially women, from being victimized by hidden cameras," Wang said at a press conference.
According to Wang, police made arrests in only seven cases involving the illegal use of the cameras. "The police haven't made any arrests regarding the use of unauthorized pinhole cameras this year," he said.
"Judging from the many pornographic DVDs on the market that were produced with hidden pinhole cameras, [I have to ask] what have the Taipei City Police been doing?"
"To prevent women from becoming the victims of electronic Peeping Toms, the police as well as that the Taipei Rapid Transit Corporation (TRTC) ought to equip themselves with compatible detection devices so they can find and remove illegal pinhole cameras," Wang said.
Wang displayed various pinhole cameras and related detection devices to illustrate how easy it is for anyone to buy the devices.
"There are even water-proof cameras that allow some [individuals] to install them in pools or saunas and take shots without the consent of their subjects," Wang said.
According to Wang, shots taken from these tiny devices usually end up in pornographic DVDs.
To support his remarks, Wang showed some footage from one of the DVDs at the press conference. Wang said that the illegal DVDs, which often feature shots of couples making out at parks, female customers changing clothes at boutiques and at public restrooms, are easy to obtain on the market.
Though no representatives from the Taipei City Police Headquarters attended Wang's press conference to offer an explanation, Hsu Yung-chuan (
In response to Wang's remarks, Yen Bang-chien (
"Aside from having MRT security patrols around MRT stations daily, we also periodically check through all MRT restrooms and corners every two to three days for hidden cameras."
Yen said that MRT passengers are generally safe from being victimized because it is almost impossible for anyone to install pinhole cameras in MRT restrooms since all the restrooms are cleaned hourly and would be spotted by cleaning crews.
"I must admit it is difficult to guard against such acts if the perpetrators are using mobile cameras," Yen said. He also called on all passengers, especially females, to be vigilant.
"Don't hesitate to report suspicious behavior to MRT security right away," he said.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
GREAT POWER COMPETITION: Beijing views its military cooperation with Russia as a means to push back against the joint power of the US and its allies, an expert said A recent Sino-Russian joint air patrol conducted over the waters off Alaska was designed to counter the US military in the Pacific and demonstrated improved interoperability between Beijing’s and Moscow’s forces, a national security expert said. National Defense University associate professor Chen Yu-chen (陳育正) made the comment in an article published on Wednesday on the Web site of the Journal of the Chinese Communist Studies Institute. China and Russia sent four strategic bombers to patrol the waters of the northern Pacific and Bering Strait near Alaska in late June, one month after the two nations sent a combined flotilla of four warships
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
EVERYONE’S ISSUE: Kim said that during a visit to Taiwan, she asked what would happen if China attacked, and was told that the global economy would shut down Taiwan is critical to the global economy, and its defense is a “here and now” issue, US Representative Young Kim said during a roundtable talk on Taiwan-US relations on Friday. Kim, who serves on the US House of Representatives’ Foreign Affairs Committee, held a roundtable talk titled “Global Ties, Local Impact: Why Taiwan Matters for California,” at Santiago Canyon College in Orange County, California. “Despite its small size and long distance from us, Taiwan’s cultural and economic importance is felt across our communities,” Kim said during her opening remarks. Stanford University researcher and lecturer Lanhee Chen (陳仁宜), lawyer Lin Ching-chi
RSS