National Police Agency (NPA) Director-General Hou You-yi (侯友宜) said yesterday that his agency deployed extra bodyguards two weeks ago to protect the safety of two presidential candidates, as each of them had been guarded by just two NPA personnel since being named as their party's candidate for the 2008 election.
As a result, Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) of the Democratic Progressive Party and Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) now have protection from four NPA security guards each, Hou said in response to questions from reporters after the murder of a Taipei County councilor triggered concerns from politicians over their own safety.
Asked about the shooting of County Councilor Wu Shan-jeou (吳善九) of the People First Party, killed by a lone gunman at his office on Wednesday, Hou said a task force had been organized to investigate the case.
Hou said that Hsieh and Ma originally had just two bodyguards each. But two weeks ago both candidates expressed the hope of securing an additional pair of guards.
Hou said he and the National Security Bureau would reassess the situation next month after the two are formally nominated by their respective parties.
When asked for comment yesterday, Ma said he would pay more attention to his personal safety, adding that he was considering employing even more bodyguards.
At a separate event, Hsieh, when asked the same question by reporters, said he currently had no plans to apply for more bodyguards.
As the public now have the impression that the police are not effective, more police officers should be used to maintain public order and protect the people, he added.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) is to launch a new program to encourage international students to stay in Taiwan and explore job opportunities here after graduation, Deputy Minister of Education Yeh Ping-cheng (葉丙成) said on Friday. The government would provide full scholarships for international students to further their studies for two years in Taiwan, so those who want to pursue a master’s degree can consider applying for the program, he said. The fields included are science, technology, engineering, mathematics, semiconductors and finance, Yeh added. The program, called “Intense 2+2,” would also assist international students who completed the two years of further studies in
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) departed for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark. Tsai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Friday night, but did not speak to reporters before departing. Tsai wrote on social media later that the purpose of the trip was to reaffirm the commitment of Taiwanese to working with democratic allies to promote regional security and stability, upholding freedom and democracy, and defending their homeland. She also expressed hope that through joint efforts, Taiwan and Europe would continue to be partners building up economic resilience on the global stage. The former president was to first
Taiwan will now have four additional national holidays after the Legislative Yuan passed an amendment today, which also made Labor Day a national holiday for all sectors. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) used their majority in the Legislative Yuan to pass the amendment to the Act on Implementing Memorial Days and State Holidays (紀念日及節日實施辦法), which the parties jointly proposed, in its third and final reading today. The legislature passed the bill to amend the act, which is currently enforced administratively, raising it to the legal level. The new legislation recognizes Confucius’ birthday on Sept. 28, the
The Taipei District Court sentenced babysitters Liu Tsai-hsuan (劉彩萱) and Liu Jou-lin (劉若琳) to life and 18 years in prison respectively today for causing the death of a one-year-old boy in December 2023. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said that Liu Tsai-hsuan was entrusted with the care of a one-year-old boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), in August 2023 by the Child Welfare League Foundation. From Sept. 1 to Dec. 23 that year, she and her sister Liu Jou-lin allegedly committed acts of abuse against the boy, who was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries on Dec. 24, 2023, but did not
RSS