Former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) is eligible to have two bodyguards, and can apply for more every two months, the National Police Agency (NPA) said on Sunday in response to claims that Ma had requested eight bodyguards.
The security detail that has followed Ma since he left office eight years ago is to be demobilized and reorganized, but Ma could apply for continued protection, the agency said, adding that a detail of one or two officers is normally assigned to a former president at their request.
In theory, more officers could be assigned if the protected person has reason to believe they or their family members’ lives are in danger, it said.
Photo: Taipei Times
To increase their security detail, Ma must apply in writing to the Ministry of the Interior, which reviews the requests before determining whether more officers are necessary.
“This is done every two months, and if the reason for the request is still valid after two months, the individual or organization making the request can apply again,” it said.
For example, former vice president Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) has requested four officers assigned to her security detail, the NPA said, adding that Ma would need to apply every two months just as Lu does.
A police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, expressed concern that, while it is understandable that politicians would want more security, they are often assigned more officers than needed.
This would become a burden on taxpayers and waste police resources, the officer said.
“Outgoing presidents and vice presidents still have security needs, but the NPA should properly allocate staff resources based on real needs,” lawyer Chan
Chin-chien (詹晉鑒) said.
“The number of officers assigned to protect an outgoing president or vice president should never exceed the number protecting the current head of state or other current high-level officials,” Chan said.
A total of 109 officers are assigned to the protection of 33 current and former officials, with 36 of those officers assigned to Premier Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁).
Former legislative speaker You Si-kun (游錫?) had six security guards (including four at his residence), while Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) has just one.
Most former high-ranking officials have security details. Former vice presidents Lien Chan (連戰), Vincent Siew (蕭萬長) and Wu Den-yih (吳敦義), as well as former legislative speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) and former premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌), are assigned two security officers each.
Additional reporting by Chien Li-chung
Foreign tourists who purchase a seven-day Taiwan Pass are to get a second one free of charge as part of a government bid to boost tourism, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. A pair of Taiwan Passes is priced at NT$5,000 (US$156.44), an agency staff member said, adding that the passes can be used separately. The pass can be used in many of Taiwan’s major cities and to travel to several tourist resorts. It expires seven days after it is first used. The pass is a three-in-one package covering the high-speed rail system, mass rapid transport (MRT) services and the Taiwan Tourist Shuttle services,
Drinking a lot of water or milk would not help a person who has ingested terbufos, a toxic chemical that has been identified as the likely cause of three deaths, a health expert said yesterday. An 83-year-old woman surnamed Tseng (曾) and two others died this week after eating millet dumplings with snails that Tseng had made. Tseng died on Tuesday and others ate the leftovers when they went to her home to mourn her death that evening. Twelve people became ill after eating the dumplings following Tseng’s death. Their symptoms included vomiting and convulsions. Six were hospitalized, with two of them
DIVA-READY: The city’s deadline for the repairs is one day before pop star Jody Chiang is to perform at the Taipei Dome for the city’s Double Ten National Day celebrations The Taipei City Government has asked Farglory Group (遠雄集團) to repair serious water leaks in the Taipei Dome before Friday next week, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said yesterday, following complaints that many areas at the stadium were leaking during two baseball games over the weekend. The dome on Saturday and Sunday hosted two games in tribute to CTBC Brothers’ star Chou Szu-chi (周思齊) ahead of his retirement from the CPBL. The games each attracted about 40,000 people, filling the stadium to capacity. However, amid heavy rain, many people reported water leaking on some seats, at the entrance and exit areas, and the
BIG collection: The herbarium holds more than 560,000 specimens, from the Japanese colonial period to the present, including the Wulai azalea, which is now extinct in the wild The largest collection of plant specimens in Taiwan, the Taipei Botanical Garden’s herbarium, is celebrating its 100th anniversary with an exhibition that opened on Friday. The herbarium provides critical historical documents for botanists and is the first of its kind in Taiwan, Taiwan Forestry Research Institute director Tseng Yen-hsueh (曾彥學) said. It is housed in a two-story red brick building, which opened during 1924. At the time, it stored 30,000 plant specimens from almost 6,000 species, including Taiwanese plant samples collected by Tomitaro Makino, the “father of Japanese botany,” Tseng said. The herbarium collection has grown in the century since its