Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) personnel could soon be allowed to use weapons to defend themselves or others without firing warning shots, after the Legislative Yuan Internal Administration Committee yesterday passed the first reading of draft amendments.
The amendments to the Use of Weapons and Requisite Instruments by the Coast Guard Authority Act (海岸巡防機關器械使用條例) are to be considered on the legislature floor without interparty negotiations, the committee told a news conference in Taipei.
The Ocean Affairs Council released the draft amendments last month, citing a need to raise the coast guard’s rules of engagement to the National Police Agency’s standards.
Photo: Yang Cheng-yu, Taipei Times
The draft — which proposes 19 changes to the act’s 17 articles — would significantly change the CGA’s operational guidelines, the council said at the time.
The amendments would authorize coast guard personnel to defend life with any weapon at their disposal, except naval guns, instead of being limited to the current law’s specific classes of weapons and implements.
The council is to determine via an administrative order which weapons and restraints to assign to coast guard personnel, the amendments say, adding that the use of weapons or other implements to capture resisting subjects, or prevent detainee escape, would be allowed when necessary.
Objects that happen to be within reach could be used as a weapon or restraint if issued equipment is unavailable or inappropriate in the circumstance, the amendments say.
Use of naval artillery could be authorized at the discretion of the CGA director-general, or the highest-ranking CGA officer if the former cannot be reached, or in urgent situations.
Such weapons can currently only be used after firearms, blades or other authorized implements have proven ineffective.
If use of force by coast guard personnel results in a death or injury, an investigation is to be conducted by a council-appointed committee of experts, while those injured by use of force could make a claim under the State Compensation Act (國家賠償法), the amendments say.
The amendments would empower coast guard personnel to use weapons and restraints more effectively while establishing an impartial investigative mechanism to protect human rights, the council said.
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
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,
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) was questioned by prosecutors for allegedly orchestrating an attack on a taxi driver after he was allegedly driven on a longer than necessary route in a car he disliked. The questioning at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office was ongoing as of press time last night. Police have recommended charges of attempted murder. The legally embattled actor — known for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代) — is under a separate investigation for allegedly using fake medical documents to evade mandatory military service. According to local media reports, police said Wang earlier last year ordered a
POLICY UNCHANGED? Despite Trump’s remarks, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio assured that US policy toward Taiwan has remained consistent since the 1970s US President Donald Trump on Wednesday again refused to make clear his stance on protecting Taiwan from a hypothetical takeover by China during his presidency. Asked by a reporter during a Cabinet meeting whether it was his policy that China would never take Taiwan by force while he is president, Trump declined to give a definitive answer. “I never comment on that,” he said. “I don’t comment on it because I don’t want to ever put myself in that position.” Trump also reiterated that he has a “great relationship” with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and said that Washington welcomes good relations with
RSS