President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday applauded prosecutors and police for capturing two suspects alleged to have planted explosive devices on a high-speed rail train and outside a lawmaker’s office, and said he expected the police to be increasingly vigilant to ensure public safety.
“The bombings in Boston show that criminals are resorting to increasingly cruel measures, and the police must be more careful and cautious in handling different crimes,” Ma said in a post on his Facebook page.
The two prime suspects in the case, Hu Tsung-hsien (胡宗賢) and Chu Ya-tong (朱亞東), are alleged to have placed suitcases containing explosive devices on northbound high-speed rail train No. 616 and outside Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lu Chia-chen’s (盧嘉辰) office in New Taipei City’s (新北市) Tucheng District (土城) on Friday last week before boarding a plane to China.
The pair were detained in Zhuhai, in China’s Guangdong Province, and repatriated to Taiwan on Tuesday.
Ma visited the National Police Agency on Thursday to present awards to police who tracked down the suspects.
He yesterday applauded the police for cracking the case within four days, and praised the contribution of the Agreement on Joint Cross-Strait Crime-Fighting and Mutual Judicial Assistance in 2009 to solving the case.
“The assistance from the Ministry of Public Security in China also helped us crack the case very fast. I want to express my appreciation for their help,” Ma said.
Police should step-up security measures and pay greater attention to safety in public spaces, Ma added.
The National Immigration Agency (NIA) said yesterday that it will revoke the dependent-based residence permit of a Chinese social media influencer who reportedly “openly advocated for [China’s] unification through military force” with Taiwan. The Chinese national, identified by her surname Liu (劉), will have her residence permit revoked in accordance with Article 14 of the “Measures for the permission of family- based residence, long-term residence and settlement of people from the Mainland Area in the Taiwan Area,” the NIA said in a news release. The agency explained it received reports that Liu made “unifying Taiwan through military force” statements on her online
A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck off Taitung County at 1:09pm today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 53km northeast of Taitung County Hall at a depth of 12.5km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Taitung County and Hualien County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Nantou County, Chiayi County, Yunlin County, Kaohsiung and Tainan, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage following the quake.
Tung Tzu-hsien (童子賢), a Taiwanese businessman and deputy convener of the nation’s National Climate Change Committee, said yesterday that “electrical power is national power” and nuclear energy is “very important to Taiwan.” Tung made the remarks, suggesting that his views do not align with the country’s current official policy of phasing out nuclear energy, at a forum organized by the Taiwan People’s Party titled “Challenges and Prospects of Taiwan’s AI Industry and Energy Policy.” “Taiwan is currently pursuing industries with high added- value and is developing vigorously, and this all requires electricity,” said the chairman
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) is to begin his one-year alternative military service tomorrow amid ongoing legal issues, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. Wang, who last month was released on bail of NT$150,000 (US$4,561) as he faces charges of allegedly attempting to evade military service and forging documents, has been ordered to report to Taipei Railway Station at 9am tomorrow, the Alternative Military Service Training and Management Center said. The 33-year-old would join about 1,300 other conscripts in the 263rd cohort of general alternative service for training at the Chenggong Ling camp in Taichung, a center official told reporters. Wang would first