Crime has become a major concern for Taichung Mayor Jason Hu (胡志強) ahead of the Nov. 27 mayoral election for Greater Taichung, with the city having become the center of a series of violent crimes in recent weeks.
While under normal circumstances the murder of alleged gangster Weng Chi-nan (翁奇楠) in his office last month would have been regarded as a regular homicide in Taichung or any other city in Taiwan, it turned into a scandal and soon became the object of public discussion after it was revealed that one retired and four active police officers were present at the scene of the crime, but did nothing to intervene.
A recent poll by the Chinese-language United Daily News showed that the recent crime wave in Taichung has had a negative impact on Hu’s popularity.
PHOTO: CHANG HSIEH-SHENG, TAIPEI TIMES
Hu said he would not disappoint his supporters.
“I will not be defeated by this crime problem,” he said.
Yang Yung-nane (楊永年), associate vice president for research and development at National Cheng Kung University, said that as Taichung is at the geographical center of the country, with convenient public transportation and a well-organized road system, people are understandably attracted to it — including underworld figures.
PHOTO: LIAO YAO-TUNG, TAIPEI TIMES
Hu acknowledged in September 2008 that the city has topped the entire country in terms of its crime rate for the past 15 years, with more than 5,000 crimes committed per 100,000 residents. According to the Taichung City Government Web site, the figure last year was 1,232 per 100,000 residents and 365.07 per 100,000 between January and April this year.
A former police officer, Yang said Taichung police had enough manpower when the Taiwan Province Government still existed, but since then, most officers have been transferred to other areas.
The city government’s Web site shows that Taichung has 2,486 police officers. On average, each officer is responsible for the safety of 412 citizens. Taipei City has 7,642 police officers, each responsible for the safety of 343 citizens, while Kaohsiung City has 4,303 police officers, each responsible for 352 citizens.
Yang said the special food chain between politics, police and the local hostess bar business — which is run by gang members — was a major problem, as was the fact that local politicians rely on gang members for financial help.
Police rely on politicians for their annual budgets, while gang members rely on a certain level of “tolerance” by police for their survival, he said.
“Crime in Taichung has been a problem for years,” he said. “The real problem behind crime is politics. How to fight such politics will be a major challenge for the mayor.”
A Taichung police officer said on condition of anonymity that hierarchical problems in the police force could be one of the reasons why the crime rate there remains higher than in other regions.
“Most Taichung officers are native [to Taichung]. However, most Taichung police chiefs were transferred from other bureaus or departments [in other parts of the country],” he said. “They cannot really understand what the local police are thinking because most get promoted and transferred to other positions within a few years.”
The officer said many of his coworkers felt frustrated whenever officers were accused of being connected with or having close ties to gang members.
“I don’t even know how to respond to this,” he said.
Sandy Yeh (葉毓蘭), an associate professor at Central Police University’s (CPU) department of foreign affairs, said the mayor should be more supportive of the police force.
“The mayor’s attitude toward the police is quite important. With his support, police will be able to enforce the law in the streets without hesitation,” Yeh said.
She said that having too many hostess bars in Taichung could be another major problem and that law-enforcement may not have sufficient resources to fight crime should the situation deteriorate.
Frank Huang (黃富源), an Examination Yuan member and an adjunct professor at the CPU’s department of crime prevention, agreed that the mayor’s attitude was key.
“Fixing the crime problem will require the participation of every resident. It’s not the responsibility of the mayor only,” he said. “That being said, the mayor should show his determination [to fight crime].”
Turning to the National Police Agency’s deployment of 41 SWAT team members to help maintain public order in Taichung, Huang said that while the move may help Hu’s re-election bid in the year-end election, it would not resolve the city’s crime problem for good.
“The problem involves society, culture, education and politics. We must fix them all,” Huang said. “The power of all the residents combined is much greater than that of the mayor alone. If Hu manages to make everybody care [about the problem], the crime rate will drop.”
Huang called on police to abide by stricter rules when it comes to having relationships with gang members.
“While police officers must come in contact with gang members for investigation purposes, they must also be taught how to protect themselves against potential lures while doing so,” Huang said.
EVA Air is prohibiting the use of portable chargers on board all flights starting from Saturday, while China Airlines is advising passengers not to use them, following the lead of South Korean airlines. Current regulations prohibit portable chargers and lithium batteries from check-in luggage and require them to be properly packed in carry-on baggage, EVA Air said. To improve onboard safety, portable chargers and spare lithium batteries would be prohibited from use on all fights starting on Saturday, it said. Passengers are advised to fully charge electronic devices before boarding and use the AC and USB charging outlets at their seat, it said. South
Hong Kong-based American singer-songwriter Khalil Fong (方大同) has passed away at the age of 41, Fong’s record label confirmed yesterday. “With unwavering optimism in the face of a relentless illness for five years, Khalil Fong gently and gracefully bid farewell to this world on the morning of February 21, 2025, stepping into the next realm of existence to carry forward his purpose and dreams,” Fu Music wrote on the company’s official Facebook page. “The music and graphic novels he gifted to the world remain an eternal testament to his luminous spirit, a timeless treasure for generations to come,” it said. Although Fong’s
WAR SIMULATION: The developers of the board game ‘2045’ consulted experts and analysts, and made maps based on real-life Chinese People’s Liberation Army exercises To stop invading Chinese forces seizing Taiwan, board gamer Ruth Zhong chooses the nuclear option: Dropping an atomic bomb on Taipei to secure the nation’s freedom and her victory. The Taiwanese board game 2045 is a zero-sum contest of military strategy and individual self-interest that puts players on the front lines of a simulated Chinese attack. Their battlefield game tactics would determine the theoretical future of Taiwan, which in the real world faces the constant threat of a Chinese invasion. “The most interesting part of this game is that you have to make continuous decisions based on the evolving situation,
China’s military buildup in the southern portion of the first island chain poses a serious threat to Taiwan’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply, a defense analyst warned. Writing in a bulletin on the National Defense and Security Research’s Web site on Thursday, Huang Tsung-ting (黃宗鼎) said that China might choke off Taiwan’s energy supply without it. Beginning last year, China entrenched its position in the southern region of the first island chain, often with Russia’s active support, he said. In May of the same year, a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) force consisting of a Type 054A destroyer, Type 055 destroyer,
RSS