Taipei plans to revise its system of keeping tabs on dangerous people, Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said yesterday after the slaying of an eight-year-old student at an elementary school in the capital’s Beitou District (北投) on Friday.
Ko said the case raised questions about whether the city’s system should be expanded, given that it had not picked up murder suspect Kung Chung-an (龔重安) before the attack.
A review would be conducted once more was known about Kung’s social network and mental state, Ko added.
Photo: CNA
Problems revealed by the case focused more on prevention rather than the city’s response, Ko said, adding that city officers deserved a grade of 99 percent for their efficiency in handling the case.
In addition to reviewing how potentially dangerous residents are monitored, Ko said that the city would also consider revising the “open campus” policy that provides public access to school grounds.
School fences might be heightened as well, he added.
Kung was reportedly able to gain access to Beitou’s Wenhua Elementary School by hopping over a low barrier wall.
A rigorous registration system for entering campuses would be a better policy than completely blocking the entrance of strangers, Ko said, adding that a cost-benefit analysis would have to be conducted before the government would consider installing alarms in school restrooms, where Friday’s incident occurred.
He said the city’s first priority is to rebuild campus security to ensure that students feel safe attending classes.
After an emergency city meeting on Friday night, Taipei Police Commissioner Chiu Feng-kuang (邱豐光) promised to bolster safety, including conducting internal campus patrols on request.
Department of Education Commissioner Tang Chih-min (湯志民) said his department would review school security camera systems and entrance policies, as well as bolster internal patrols.
The city would also consider reintroducing officers to direct traffic near schools at the beginning and end of school days, Taipei Police Department Deputy Commissioner Chou Shou-sung (周壽松) said.
Twenty-four Republican members of the US House of Representatives yesterday introduced a concurrent resolution calling on the US government to abolish the “one China” policy and restore formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Led by US representatives Tom Tiffany and Scott Perry, the resolution calls for not only re-establishing formal relations, but also urges the US Trade Representative to negotiate a free-trade agreement (FTA) with Taiwan and for US officials to advocate for Taiwan’s full membership in the UN and other international organizations. In a news release announcing the resolution, Tiffany, who represents a Wisconsin district, called the “one China” policy “outdated, counterproductive
Actress Barbie Hsu (徐熙媛) has “returned home” to Taiwan, and there are no plans to hold a funeral for the TV star who died in Japan from influenza- induced pneumonia, her family said in a statement Wednesday night. The statement was released after local media outlets reported that Barbie Hsu’s ashes were brought back Taiwan on board a private jet, which arrived at Taipei Songshan Airport around 3 p.m. on Wednesday. To the reporters waiting at the airport, the statement issued by the family read “(we) appreciate friends working in the media for waiting in the cold weather.” “She has safely returned home.
TRUMP ERA: The change has sparked speculation on whether it was related to the new US president’s plan to dismiss more than 1,000 Joe Biden-era appointees The US government has declined to comment on a post that indicated the departure of Laura Rosenberger as chair of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT). Neither the US Department of State nor the AIT has responded to the Central News Agency’s questions on the matter, after Rosenberger was listed as a former chair on the AIT’s official Web site, with her tenure marked as 2023 to this year. US officials have said previously that they usually do not comment on personnel changes within the government. Rosenberger was appointed head of the AIT in 2023, during the administration of former US president Joe
ON PAROLE: The 73-year-old suspect has a criminal record of rape committed when he was serving in the military, as well as robbery and theft, police said The Kaohsiung District Court yesterday approved the detention of a 73-year-old man for allegedly murdering three women. The suspect, surnamed Chang (張), was arrested on Wednesday evening in connection with the death of a 71-year-old woman surnamed Chao (趙). The Kaohsiung City Police Department yesterday also unveiled the identities of two other possible victims in the serial killing case, a 75-year-old woman surnamed Huang (黃), the suspect’s sister-in-law, and a 75-year-old woman surnamed Chang (張), who is not related to the suspect. The case came to light when Chao disappeared after taking the suspect back to his residence on Sunday. Police, upon reviewing CCTV
RSS