Proposals to amend security and defense laws are aimed at better preparing the nation’s private security guards for civil defense in wartime, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chang Liao Wan-chien (張廖萬堅) said yesterday.
Chang Liao and other DPP legislators have proposed amendments to the Private Security Service Act (保全業法) and the All-out Defense Mobilization Readiness Act (全民防衛動員準備法) to allow the Ministry of National Defense to train private security firms in civil defense so that they can be incorporated into the nation’s civil defense system in wartime.
“Security personnel are involved in protecting various aspects of life in Taiwan, such as residential buildings, commercial offices, transit stations, construction sites, factories, hospitals and power plants,” Chang Liao said. “This group of frontline staff is familiar with the public and the nation’s terrain, and could be an important force in defending the country.”
Photo: Sam Yeh, AFP
One of the proposals would amend Article 15 of the All-out Defense Mobilization Readiness Act, which states that during wartime, authorities should organize “professional citizens, civil defense forces, volunteer firefighters and rescue personnel, as well as ... school youths, retired veterans” and others into defense plans. The amendment would add security guards to that list.
The proposals would benefit defense efforts by offloading some tasks traditionally performed by the military and police to the private security industry, Institute for National Defense and Security Research postdoctoral researcher Hsu Chih-hsiang (許智翔) said.
Efficient deployment of labor is important to a nation like Taiwan, which has “relatively few troops,” he said, adding that civil defense forces could respond effectively to disaster scenarios.
Community security would be important in helping people take refuge, as they would know the location of safe spaces, civilian resources and how many people could be accommodated, he said.
“For example, look at the war in Ukraine. When residential and commercial buildings came under fire, building security knew better than anyone how to evacuate those buildings,” he said. “When whole communities need to evacuate or take refuge, it is community authorities who best know what refuge spaces there are, and what resources the community has.”
Security Industries Association president Chang Ta-chang (張達錩) said he hoped the law could be amended as soon as possible so that the military could start training security guards.
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday said it is fully aware of the situation following reports that the son of ousted Chinese politician Bo Xilai (薄熙來) has arrived in Taiwan and is to marry a Taiwanese. Local media reported that Bo Guagua (薄瓜瓜), son of the former member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, is to marry the granddaughter of Luodong Poh-Ai Hospital founder Hsu Wen-cheng (許文政). The pair met when studying abroad and arranged to get married this year, with the wedding breakfast to be held at The One holiday resort in Hsinchu
An orange gas cloud that leaked from a waste management plant yesterday morning in Taoyuan’s Guanyin District (觀音) was likely caused by acidic waste, authorities said, adding that it posed no immediate harm. The leak occurred at a plant in the district’s Environmental Science and Technology Park at about 7am, the Taoyuan Fire Department said. Firefighters discovered a cloud of unidentified orange gas leaking from a waste tank when they arrived on the site, it said, adding that they put on Level A chemical protection before entering the building. After finding there was no continuous leak, the department worked with the city’s Department
‘SIGN OF DANGER’: Beijing has never directly named Taiwanese leaders before, so China is saying that its actions are aimed at the DPP, a foundation official said National Security Bureau (NSB) Director-General Tsai Ming-yen (蔡明彥) yesterday accused Beijing of spreading propaganda, saying that Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) had singled out President William Lai (賴清德) in his meeting with US President Joe Biden when talking about those whose “true nature” seek Taiwanese independence. The Biden-Xi meeting took place on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Peru on Saturday. “If the US cares about maintaining peace across the Taiwan Strait, it is crucial that it sees clearly the true nature of Lai and the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in seeking Taiwanese independence, handles the Taiwan question with extra
The Taipei Zoo on Saturday said it would pursue legal action against a man who was filmed climbing over a railing to tease and feed spotted hyenas in their enclosure earlier that day. In videos uploaded to social media on Saturday, a man can be seen climbing over a protective railing and approaching a ledge above the zoo’s spotted hyena enclosure, before dropping unidentified objects down to two of the animals. The Taipei Zoo in a statement said the man’s actions were “extremely inappropriate and even illegal.” In addition to monitoring the hyenas’ health, the zoo would collect evidence provided by the public
RSS