An annual joint drill at Kaohsiung Port yesterday received heightened attention after skyscrapers around Taiwan were threatened with chemical attacks.
The anti-terror, anti-disaster and rescue exercise at Singuang Ferry Wharf involved the police, firefighters, the coast guard and private rescue teams.
Director-general of the port bureau Hsiao Ding-hsun (蕭丁訓) said that in light of terrorist activity worldwide, it was necessary to step up security at the port and strengthen anti-terror capabilities and disaster rescue responses.
Photo: CNA
In an e-mail received by Taipei City police on Wednesday, the sender, which called itself the “Aryan Nations,” threatened to place “devastating chemicals” in Taipei 101 and the Shin Kong Life Tower in Taipei, and in the Chang Gu World Trade Center and Tuntex Sky Tower in Kaohsiung.
Sounds of gunshots and explosions were heard during the 90-minute drill in Kaohsiung as policemen brought down “terrorists” in a simulated scenario in which a ship at the wharf was hijacked.
Coast guard vessels and rescue ships also rushed out to sea to rescue several “passengers” who had jumped from a light plane.
A total of 33 security units have been established at the port since 2004, based on the International Ship and Port Facility Security Code, Hsiao said.
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