Proposals to amend security and defense laws are aimed at better preparing the nation’s private security guards for civil defense in wartime, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chang Liao Wan-chien (張廖萬堅) said yesterday.
Chang Liao and other DPP legislators have proposed amendments to the Private Security Service Act (保全業法) and the All-out Defense Mobilization Readiness Act (全民防衛動員準備法) to allow the Ministry of National Defense to train private security firms in civil defense so that they can be incorporated into the nation’s civil defense system in wartime.
“Security personnel are involved in protecting various aspects of life in Taiwan, such as residential buildings, commercial offices, transit stations, construction sites, factories, hospitals and power plants,” Chang Liao said. “This group of frontline staff is familiar with the public and the nation’s terrain, and could be an important force in defending the country.”
Photo: Sam Yeh, AFP
One of the proposals would amend Article 15 of the All-out Defense Mobilization Readiness Act, which states that during wartime, authorities should organize “professional citizens, civil defense forces, volunteer firefighters and rescue personnel, as well as ... school youths, retired veterans” and others into defense plans. The amendment would add security guards to that list.
The proposals would benefit defense efforts by offloading some tasks traditionally performed by the military and police to the private security industry, Institute for National Defense and Security Research postdoctoral researcher Hsu Chih-hsiang (許智翔) said.
Efficient deployment of labor is important to a nation like Taiwan, which has “relatively few troops,” he said, adding that civil defense forces could respond effectively to disaster scenarios.
Community security would be important in helping people take refuge, as they would know the location of safe spaces, civilian resources and how many people could be accommodated, he said.
“For example, look at the war in Ukraine. When residential and commercial buildings came under fire, building security knew better than anyone how to evacuate those buildings,” he said. “When whole communities need to evacuate or take refuge, it is community authorities who best know what refuge spaces there are, and what resources the community has.”
Security Industries Association president Chang Ta-chang (張達錩) said he hoped the law could be amended as soon as possible so that the military could start training security guards.
ANOTHER EMERGES: The CWA yesterday said this year’s fourth storm of the typhoon season had formed in the South China Sea, but was not expected to affect Taiwan Tropical Storm Gaemi has intensified slightly as it heads toward Taiwan, where it is expected to affect the country in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 8am yesterday, the 120km-radius storm was 800km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving at 9kph northwest, the agency said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued tonight at the earliest, it said, adding that the storm is projected to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday. Gaemi’s potential effect on Taiwan remains unclear, as that would depend on its direction, radius and intensity, forecasters said. Former Weather Forecast
As COVID-19 cases in Japan have been increasing for 10 consecutive weeks, people should get vaccinated before visiting the nation, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said. The centers reported 773 hospitalizations and 124 deaths related to COVID-19 in Taiwan last week. CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) on Tuesday said the number of weekly COVID-19 cases reported in Japan has been increasing since mid-May and surpassed 55,000 cases from July 8 to July 14. The average number of COVID-19 patients at Japan’s healthcare facilities that week was also 1.39 times that of the week before and KP.3 is the dominant
The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) working group for Taiwan-related policies is likely to be upgraded to a committee-level body, a report commissioned by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said. As Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is increasingly likely to upgrade the CCP’s Central Leading Group for Taiwan Affairs, Taiwanese authorities should prepare by researching Xi and the CCP, the report said. At the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the CCP, which ended on Thursday last week, the party set a target of 2029 for the completion of some tasks, meaning that Xi is likely preparing to
US-CHINA TRADE DISPUTE: Despite Beijing’s offer of preferential treatment, the lure of China has dimmed as Taiwanese and international investors move out Japan and the US have become the favored destinations for Taiwanese graduates as China’s attraction has waned over the years, the Ministry of Labor said. According to the ministry’s latest income and employment advisory published this month, 3,215 Taiwanese university graduates from the class of 2020 went to Japan, surpassing for the first time the 2,881 graduates who went to China. A total of 2,300 graduates from the class of 2021 went to the US, compared with the 2,262 who went to China, the document showed. The trend continued for the class of 2023, of whom 1,460 went to Japan, 1,334 went to