Security measures, including police patrols, were stepped up on the MRT Taoyuan Airport Line after a bomb threat on Friday.
Authorities said that the threat, sent via e-mail to Taoyuan Metro Corp from an IP address in the Netherlands, was likely made by a former Chinese exchange student named Zhang Haichuan (張海川).
Police said the threat was likely politically motivated, citing the e-mail as demanding that the government refuse to receive Swiss lawmakers who are scheduled to arrive today for a delegation visit.
Photo: CNA
Police said Zhang is suspected to have sent three bomb threats this week.
He was previously enrolled in a graduate program at a Taiwanese university, but now lives in an unknown location abroad, police added.
The e-mail was sent via a virtual private network, but investigators determined that it was sent from a location in the Netherlands, police said.
The e-mail warned that if the government receives the delegation, a gasoline-based bomb would be detonated at Taipei Main Station, the northern terminus of the MRT line connecting Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, police said.
The detonation would pose “serious danger” to people at the station, police cited the e-mail as saying.
Police said security measures had been increased at all stations of the line.
More officers had been deployed to patrol the stations, while MRT staff were put on alert for potential threats, they said.
Police officers and MRT staff were seen checking trash cans, lockers and restrooms, while passengers were asked via loudspeaker to pay increased attention to unattended luggage and suspicious activity.
Those who see any suspicious activity should report it to station staff or press emergency buttons on the trains, the announcements said.
MRT officials in Taipei said they had received two similar bomb threats.
They also came via similarly worded e-mails from the Netherlands, making Zhang their likely author, they said.
Since the beginning of the year, Zhang had allegedly sent six threats, including to the Taiwan Railways Administration, police said.
However, his previous threats said a person would use an unspecified weapon to carry out attacks on train passengers, police said.
While studying in Taiwan in 2021, Zhang allegedly also threatened a female classmate he was romantically interested in, but who did not reciprocate his advances. An investigation into the threats by Taichung prosecutors allegedly prompted him to leave the country.
Investigators said he might have developed grudges against Taiwan since then.
Taoyuan Mayor Simon Chang (張善政) said increased patrols would ensure safety on the MRT system.
“MRT passengers can feel safe,” he said.
INFRASTRUCTURE: Work on the second segment, from Kaohsiung to Pingtung, is expected to begin in 2028 and be completed by 2039, the railway bureau said Planned high-speed rail (HSR) extensions would blanket Taiwan proper in four 90-minute commute blocs to facilitate regional economic and livelihood integration, Railway Bureau Deputy Director-General Yang Cheng-chun (楊正君) said in an interview published yesterday. A project to extend the high-speed rail from Zuoying Station in Kaohsiung to Pingtung County’s Lioukuaicuo Township (六塊厝) is the first part of the bureau’s greater plan to expand rail coverage, he told the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times). The bureau’s long-term plan is to build a loop to circle Taiwan proper that would consist of four sections running from Taipei to Hualien, Hualien to
The Civil Aviation Administration yesterday said that it is considering punishments for China Airlines (CAL) and Starlux Airlines for making hard landings and overworking their cabin crew when the nation was hit by Typhoon Kong-rey in October last year. The civil aviation authority launched an investigation after media reported that many airlines were forced to divert their flights to different airports or go around after failing to land when the typhoon affected the nation on Oct. 30 and 31 last year. The agency reviewed 503 flights dispatched by Taiwanese airlines during those two days, as well as weather data, flight hours
Three people have had their citizenship revoked after authorities confirmed that they hold Chinese ID cards, Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said yesterday. Two of the three people were featured in a recent video about Beijing’s “united front” tactics by YouTuber Pa Chiung (八炯) and Taiwanese rapper Chen Po-yuan (陳柏源), including Su Shi-en (蘇士恩), who displayed a Chinese ID card in the video, and taekwondo athlete Lee Tung-hsien (李東憲), who mentioned he had obtained a Chinese ID card in a telephone call with Chen, Liang told the council’s weekly news conference. Lee, who reportedly worked in
A relatively large earthquake may strike within the next two weeks, following a magnitude 5.2 temblor that shook Taitung County this morning, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. An earthquake struck at 8:18am today 10.2km west of Taitung County Hall in Taitung City at a relatively shallow depth of 6.5km, CWA data showed. The largest intensity of 4 was felt in Taitung and Pingtung counties, which received an alert notice, while areas north of Taichung did not feel any shaking, the CWA said. The earthquake was the result of the collision between the Philippine Plate and the Eurasian Plate, the agency said, adding
RSS