Taiwan plans 17,000 personnel to beef up security at major events

Taipei, Dec. 22 (CNA) The Ministry of the Interior (MOI) has plans to deploy 17,000 police and others, including civil defense personnel and volunteers, to bolster security at major events across Taiwan in the run-up to the Lunar New Year holiday.

According to a MOI report, local police departments have been tasked with planning duty assignments and strengthening security measures, involving a total of 17,295 personnel.

The deployments aim to boost police visibility and strengthen deterrence at 137 events scheduled nationwide before the holiday, Interior Minister Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) told reporters prior to attending a committee hearing at the Legislative Yuan Monday.

The measures come in response to Friday's deadly attacks at MRT Taipei Main Station and nearby MRT Zhongshan Station, where a 27-year-old man, Chang Wen (張文), launched a series of assaults involving smoke grenades and a knife, leaving three people dead and at least 11 others injured.

The attacker eventually fell to his death from the roof of a six-story department store while being pursued by police.

Since the incident, authorities had recorded 20 online reports of potential threats at multiple locations as of 7 p.m. Sunday, according to the MOI, noting that all cases have been formally investigated and three suspects been detained.

The ministry also issued a stern warning against individuals posting online threats, saying Taiwan has zero tolerance for any acts of terror and urging the public not to treat such criminal acts as a source of amusement.

Liu said that whether threats or intimidation, they cause significant anxiety and unease among the public, and local police will continue working with the Criminal Investigation Bureau to investigate such cases without interruption.

During the legislative hearing, lawmakers asked whether the Taipei incident will be included in the National Public Safety Guide for responding to major violent or public safety threats, and whether similar future attacks could trigger emergency text alerts to notify the public. Liu said the incident will be included in the next updated version of the guide, and if the draft receives approval, a new edition is expected to be issued next year.

Regarding emergency text alerts, he said authorities must consider whether sending such messages hastily could cause unnecessary panic, adding that local governments currently use such alerts primarily for evacuation purposes during natural disasters.

At the hearing, National Police Agency (NPA) Director-General Chang Jung-hsin (張榮興) was asked whether smoke grenades and signal flares should be regulated. He said the sale of smoke grenades, sometimes used in emergency signaling or survival games, will be reviewed within a month to see if buyers should be required to register their names.