The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) has set up an official Web site dedicated to its campaign against drug abuse.
In a statement on the Web site, Minister of Justice Morley Shih (
Drug abuse often leads to other criminal conduct and activities, as addicts look for cash to sustain their habit, Shih said.
According to statistics provided by the ministry, the volume of drugs seized by the government in its crackdown has been increasing in recent years.
In 2001 law enforcement officials seized more than 2 million units of various forms of drugs. This figure rose to more than 8 million units in 2003 and further to 13 million units last year.
Meanwhile, the number of people indicted for trading, trafficking, possession and using drugs has also risen in recent years. From January to November last year, 27,152 people were indicted under the Violation of the Narcotics Endangerment Prevention Act (
Aside from offering information on issues such as signs and symptoms of drug abuse, the Web site offers stories of people who successfully overcame a drug habit.
The ministry is currently working on amending a law that would enable authorities to detain users of minor drugs and force them to undergo treatment.
The proposed amendment should help young people that have become hooked on minor drugs such as ketamine, methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA or ecstasy) or flunitrazepam, which are frequently found in pubs or KTVs, according to the ministry. A stricter law could also act as a deterrent for potential drug users.
Under the current law, while selling or transporting third-class, or minor, drugs is a criminal offense, those caught using these drugs do not face criminal charges.
Taiwan is stepping up plans to create self-sufficient supply chains for combat drones and increase foreign orders from the US to counter China’s numerical superiority, a defense official said on Saturday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, the official said the nation’s armed forces are in agreement with US Admiral Samuel Paparo’s assessment that Taiwan’s military must be prepared to turn the nation’s waters into a “hellscape” for the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA). Paparo, the commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, reiterated the concept during a Congressional hearing in Washington on Wednesday. He first coined the term in a security conference last
A magnitude 4.3 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 8:31am today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was located in Hualien County, about 70.3 kilometers south southwest of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 23.2km, according to the administration. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County, where it measured 3 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 2 in Hualien and Nantou counties, the CWA said.
The Overseas Community Affairs Council (OCAC) yesterday announced a fundraising campaign to support survivors of the magnitude 7.7 earthquake that struck Myanmar on March 28, with two prayer events scheduled in Taipei and Taichung later this week. “While initial rescue operations have concluded [in Myanmar], many survivors are now facing increasingly difficult living conditions,” OCAC Minister Hsu Chia-ching (徐佳青) told a news conference in Taipei. The fundraising campaign, which runs through May 31, is focused on supporting the reconstruction of damaged overseas compatriot schools, assisting students from Myanmar in Taiwan, and providing essential items, such as drinking water, food and medical supplies,
New Party Deputy Secretary-General You Chih-pin (游智彬) this morning went to the National Immigration Agency (NIA) to “turn himself in” after being notified that he had failed to provide proof of having renounced his Chinese household registration. He was one of more than 10,000 naturalized Taiwanese citizens from China who were informed by the NIA that their Taiwanese citizenship might be revoked if they fail to provide the proof in three months, people familiar with the matter said. You said he has proof that he had renounced his Chinese household registration and demanded the NIA provide proof that he still had Chinese
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