Legislators across party lines yesterday demanded that the National Security Bureau provide a comprehensive report on planned actions and policies to address a perceived laxness of presidential security.
At a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign and National Defense Committee yesterday, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lo Chih-cheng (羅致政) asked whether presidential security has been compromised, citing several incidents that took place last year, and asked whether the bureau considered the possibility of internal leaks.
The incidents included a pension reform protest group attempting to scale the walls of the presidential residence; the presidential motorcade being intercepted on its way to the Political Warfare Cadres Academy in Taipei’s Beitou District (北投) on June 30 and the interception of an unannounced inspection of the Information and Electronic Warfare Command on June 29.
Other scandals included allegations in May last year that the first female guard at the Presidential Office Building, Colonel Chen Yueh-fang (陳月芳), was sexually harassed by Major Yang Chih-wen (楊志文); the expulsion of Chan Tsung-han (詹宗漢) from the guard unit for drinking before duty; and a presidential guard accidentally discharging their service weapon while in the grounds of the building.
An internal investigation is underway, Deputy Bureau Director Chou Mei-wu (周美伍) said, adding that he could not comment further, as he is not in charge.
No agent or staff member is being investigated for leaking classified information and no legal procedure has been started, Chou said, adding that the bureau is taking measures to ensure that classified information is kept safe.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) and Lin Li-chan (林麗蟬) also expressed concerns, saying that with the amount of scandals surrounding the president’s security detail, “the screws have not come loose, they have disappeared altogether.”
Meanwhile, the bureau yesterday reported that it has executed more than 3,000 missions and mobilized about 160,000 individuals in the first months of the year.
Asked whether the 3,000 missions for President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) could be interpreted as increased need for security under her administration, Chou said that each “mission” is defined as a location visited by people with a security detail.
If the president visits three places, including the residence, it would be counted as three separate missions, Chou said.
When asked whether former president Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) “road trips” were counted as missions, Chou said the total amount of personnel mobilized to date includes staff assigned to the president, as well as former presidents and vice presidents.
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Monday called for greater cooperation between Taiwan, Lithuania and the EU to counter threats to information security, including attacks on undersea cables and other critical infrastructure. In a speech at Vilnius University in the Lithuanian capital, Tsai highlighted recent incidents in which vital undersea cables — essential for cross-border data transmission — were severed in the Taiwan Strait and the Baltic Sea over the past year. Taiwanese authorities suspect Chinese sabotage in the incidents near Taiwan’s waters, while EU leaders have said Russia is the likely culprit behind similar breaches in the Baltic. “Taiwan and our European
Hong Kong singer Eason Chan’s (陳奕迅) concerts in Kaohsiung this weekend have been postponed after he was diagnosed with Covid-19 this morning, the organizer said today. Chan’s “FEAR and DREAMS” concert which was scheduled to be held in the coming three days at the Kaohsiung Arena would be rescheduled to May 29, 30 and 31, while the three shows scheduled over the next weekend, from May 23 to 25, would be held as usual, Universal Music said in a statement. Ticket holders can apply for a full refund or attend the postponed concerts with the same seating, the organizer said. Refund arrangements would
Taiwanese indie band Sunset Rollercoaster and South Korean outfit Hyukoh collectively received the most nominations at this year’s Golden Melody Awards, earning a total of seven nods from the jury on Wednesday. The bands collaborated on their 2024 album AAA, which received nominations for best band, best album producer, best album design and best vocal album recording. “Young Man,” a single from the album, earned nominations for song of the year and best music video, while another track, “Antenna,” also received a best music video nomination. Late Hong Kong-American singer Khalil Fong (方大同) was named the jury award winner for his 2024 album
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