The government is keeping track of possible entry into the country by individuals suspected of involvement in international terrorism and is planning to set up biometric identification systems to strengthen security at its borders, National Immigration Agency Director-General Hsieh Li-kung (謝立功) said yesterday.
Hsieh made the remarks while fielding questions from Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chen Ou-po (陳歐珀) at a meeting of the Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee at the legislature in Taipei.
The agency has access to a list of suspected terrorists and maintains regular contacts with its counterparts in other countries, Hsieh said.
Hsieh said that a biometric identification system for foreigners would be installed at Kaohsiung International Airport in December in a pilot project for a plan to have the facility set up in all airports in the country. The agency has asked for NT$180 million (US$6 million) for the project, he said.
Since March 2011, the e-Gate system, which utilizes biometric identification technology to identify people through fingerprints and facial features, has been operating in several major airports. The system applies only to Republic of China passports holders and those holding permanent residence permits.
Separately, National Security Bureau Deputy Director-General Wang Teh-lin (王德麟) said the Presidential Office is capable of intercepting any letter containing toxic substances that is addressed to President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九).
Wang made the remarks following reports that letters addressed to US President Barack Obama and other US officials have recently tested positive for the poison ricin.
Wang said the Presidential Office has a unit charged with handling such matters.
“All correspondence to the Presidential Office has to pass security tests in accordance with the regulations,” Wang said in response to media queries before attending a meeting of the Judiciary and Organic Laws and Statutes Committee meeting at the legislature discussing strengthening anti-terrorism measures.
The bureau added that the government, in the wake of the Boston Marathon bombing on Monday, would step up its counterterrorism measures for the 2017 Universiade in Taipei.
Saying that international sports events and activities are easy targets for terrorists, Wang added the bureau would work closely with the Cabinet and the Taipei City Government to tighten security for the Universiade and ensure that the event proceeds safely and peacefully.
So far, the bureau has not detected any recruitment activities in Taiwan involving foreign extremist organizations, nor are there cases in which Taiwanese have received terrorist training.
However, there have been several terror hoaxes, including a 2011 e-mail threat, claiming to be from the US white supremacist group Aryan Nations, to carry out a chemical attack on Taipei 101, Wang said.
The failed explosive devices placed on a high-speed train and outside a legislator’s office on Friday last week are not considered attempts at terrorism, given that the suspects did not have any contact with or received training from any extremist organization, he said.
Deputy Minister of Transportation and Communications Chen Chwen-jinq (陳純敬), in response to criticism that the evacuation of the train on Friday was too slow, said the ministry would review evacuation measures for the nation’s railway systems and submit a report on the matter within a month.
Minister of Justice Tseng Yung-fu (曾勇夫) added that his ministry would draft a counterterrorism law within three months.
CLASH OF WORDS: While China’s foreign minister insisted the US play a constructive role with China, Rubio stressed Washington’s commitment to its allies in the region The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday affirmed and welcomed US Secretary of State Marco Rubio statements expressing the US’ “serious concern over China’s coercive actions against Taiwan” and aggressive behavior in the South China Sea, in a telephone call with his Chinese counterpart. The ministry in a news release yesterday also said that the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs had stated many fallacies about Taiwan in the call. “We solemnly emphasize again that our country and the People’s Republic of China are not subordinate to each other, and it has been an objective fact for a long time, as well as
‘CHARM OFFENSIVE’: Beijing has been sending senior Chinese officials to Okinawa as part of efforts to influence public opinion against the US, the ‘Telegraph’ reported Beijing is believed to be sowing divisions in Japan’s Okinawa Prefecture to better facilitate an invasion of Taiwan, British newspaper the Telegraph reported on Saturday. Less than 750km from Taiwan, Okinawa hosts nearly 30,000 US troops who would likely “play a pivotal role should Beijing order the invasion of Taiwan,” it wrote. To prevent US intervention in an invasion, China is carrying out a “silent invasion” of Okinawa by stoking the flames of discontent among locals toward the US presence in the prefecture, it said. Beijing is also allegedly funding separatists in the region, including Chosuke Yara, the head of the Ryukyu Independence
GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY: Taiwan must capitalize on the shock waves DeepSeek has sent through US markets to show it is a tech partner of Washington, a researcher said China’s reported breakthrough in artificial intelligence (AI) would prompt the US to seek a stronger alliance with Taiwan and Japan to secure its technological superiority, a Taiwanese researcher said yesterday. The launch of low-cost AI model DeepSeek (深度求索) on Monday sent US tech stocks tumbling, with chipmaker Nvidia Corp losing 16 percent of its value and the NASDAQ falling 612.46 points, or 3.07 percent, to close at 19,341.84 points. On the same day, the Philadelphia Stock Exchange Semiconductor Sector index dropped 488.7 points, or 9.15 percent, to close at 4,853.24 points. The launch of the Chinese chatbot proves that a competitor can
‘VERY SHALLOW’: The center of Saturday’s quake in Tainan’s Dongshan District hit at a depth of 7.7km, while yesterday’s in Nansai was at a depth of 8.1km, the CWA said Two magnitude 5.7 earthquakes that struck on Saturday night and yesterday morning were aftershocks triggered by a magnitude 6.4 quake on Tuesday last week, a seismologist said, adding that the epicenters of the aftershocks are moving westward. Saturday and yesterday’s earthquakes occurred as people were preparing for the Lunar New Year holiday this week. As of 10am yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) recorded 110 aftershocks from last week’s main earthquake, including six magnitude 5 to 6 quakes and 32 magnitude 4 to 5 tremors. Seventy-one of the earthquakes were smaller than magnitude 4. Thirty-one of the aftershocks were felt nationwide, while 79