Shooting incidents over the past two days have prompted Premier Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) and New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) to order a police crackdown on guns and gangs.
“These are serious provocations and pose a challenge to authorities,” Chen said yesterday following two incidents in New Taipei City. “We have mandated the National Police Agency (NPA) to provide all necessary support for a crackdown and have demanded that the New Taipei City Government firmly deal with the situation.”
“The criminal groups responsible must be brought to justice and effective crime-prevention measures implemented,” he said.
Photo: Cheng Ching-yi, Taipei Times
“The city government must live up to its responsibility and take action without delay,” he said.
Hou, who is in Singapore, said in a video taken on his phone that he had ordered police to conduct checks at nightclubs and find all of the people involved in the incidents.
“We cannot allow criminals to be so brazen,” Hou said.
Photo: copied by Wu Jen-chieh, Taipei Times
The first incident occurred early on Wednesday.
Rival gang members were involved in a car chase that started in Taipei and ended in New Taipei City’s Banciao District (板橋), police said.
One of the suspects allegedly fired 11 shots from a handgun at a pursuing vehicle, police said.
Two people turned themselves in, with a teenager surnamed Wu (吳) telling officers that he had fired the shots, police said, adding that the other was a man surnamed Lin (林), who told them he was driving the car with Wu in it.
At about 8am on Thursday, a man surnamed Liu (劉) allegedly fired 51 bullets into the shuttered entrance of a pawnshop in Tucheng District (土城), police said.
Experts identified the firearm as a modified US-made F-1 Skeleton “PCC” 9mm pistol.
A preliminary investigation indicated that the two incidents were related, police said.
Rival groups were fighting over NT$1 billion (US$32.66 million) of methylone after police raided two sites in New Taipei City and Yilan County where the drug was allegedly being produced, police said.
The Bamboo Union’s Hongren Chapter ran the drug operation, while the Taipei-based Huashan Gang (華山幫) had placed an order, police said.
The Hongren Chapter apparently asked the Huashan Gang to split the losses after the drugs were confiscated, but were rebuffed, prompting an argument and the car chase, police said.
Gang bosses might have deliberately sought teenagers to use the weapons, as both were 17 and turned themselves in immediately, which would allow them to seek reduced sentences, police said.
New Taipei City Councilor Tai Wei-shan (戴瑋姍) also called on the mayor to act.
“Gangsters firing guns in broad daylight are challenging Hou’s authority,” Tai said. “Hou’s long career in policing does not equate to leadership ability or competence.”
Hou is a former director-general of the NPA.
Alain Robert, known as the "French Spider-Man," praised Alex Honnold as exceptionally well-prepared after the US climber completed a free solo ascent of Taipei 101 yesterday. Robert said Honnold's ascent of the 508m-tall skyscraper in just more than one-and-a-half hours without using safety ropes or equipment was a remarkable achievement. "This is my life," he said in an interview conducted in French, adding that he liked the feeling of being "on the edge of danger." The 63-year-old Frenchman climbed Taipei 101 using ropes in December 2004, taking about four hours to reach the top. On a one-to-10 scale of difficulty, Robert said Taipei 101
Nipah virus infection is to be officially listed as a category 5 notifiable infectious disease in Taiwan in March, while clinical treatment guidelines are being formulated, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. With Nipah infections being reported in other countries and considering its relatively high fatality rate, the centers on Jan. 16 announced that it would be listed as a notifiable infectious disease to bolster the nation’s systematic early warning system and increase public awareness, the CDC said. Bangladesh reported four fatal cases last year in separate districts, with three linked to raw date palm sap consumption, CDC Epidemic Intelligence
Taiwanese and US defense groups are collaborating to introduce deployable, semi-autonomous manufacturing systems for drones and components in a boost to the nation’s supply chain resilience. Taiwan’s G-Tech Optroelectronics Corp subsidiary GTOC and the US’ Aerkomm Inc on Friday announced an agreement with fellow US-based Firestorm Lab to adopt the latter’s xCell, a technology featuring 3D printers fitted in 6.1m container units. The systems enable aerial platforms and parts to be produced in high volumes from dispersed nodes capable of rapid redeployment, to minimize the risk of enemy strikes and to meet field requirements, they said. Firestorm chief technology officer Ian Muceus said
MORE FALL: An investigation into one of Xi’s key cronies, part of a broader ‘anti-corruption’ drive, indicates that he might have a deep distrust in the military, an expert said China’s latest military purge underscores systemic risks in its shift from collective leadership to sole rule under Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), and could disrupt its chain of command and military capabilities, a national security official said yesterday. If decisionmaking within the Chinese Communist Party has become “irrational” under one-man rule, the Taiwan Strait and the regional situation must be approached with extreme caution, given unforeseen risks, they added. The anonymous official made the remarks as China’s Central Military Commission Vice Chairman Zhang Youxia (張又俠) and Joint Staff Department Chief of Staff Liu Zhenli (劉振立) were reportedly being investigated for suspected “serious
RSS