Premier Jiang Yi-huah expressed shock over yesterday's twin bombings at the Boston Marathon in the U.S. and strongly condemned those responsible for the attack.
President Ma Ying-jeou also expressed his sympathies this morning during a videoconference with Stanford University hosted by former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Condemning the act of violence, Ma offered condolences from the people and government of Taiwan to conference participants and viewers in America.
Six ROC nationals who registered for the marathon through Taiwan's Sports Administration have been reached by the Taiwan representative office in Boston while a seventh is still unaccounted for. Preliminary reports indicate no Taiwanese students or nationals were injured but the representative office will continue monitoring development to provide assistance as needed.
According to the Executive Yuan, security for large public gatherings in Taiwan such as the 2010 Taipei International Flora Exposition, the 2009 Deaflympics and various New Year's Eve celebrations have always been overseen by the National Security Bureau, National Police Agency (NPA) and local governments. Henceforth the Executive Yuan will require police units to beef up security measures at such events to safeguard the safety of citizens.
Regarding the recent scare in Taiwan in which gasoline-filled suitcases were planted on a high-speed train and near a lawmaker's office, Premier Jiang expressed the government's concern and said that the NPA's Criminal Investigation Bureau has been asked to investigate the incident. The Railway Police Bureau and the Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. have also stepped up alertness and security checks for the protection of passengers.