To assist in managing the safety of the 2017 Summer Universiade—which will be hosted by Taipei City—the Executive Yuan and the National Security Bureau (NSB) jointly organized an academic symposium on the subject at the National Defense University's Management College.
The symposium is being held in two phases. The first phase, topical discussion, was held today; and the second, situational simulation training, will take place May 27-28 at the NSB's training center.
The invitees to today's discussions included the Summer Universiade's organizer—the Taipei City Government (TCG)—and co-organizers the New Taipei City Government, Taoyuan City Government, Hsinchu City Government and Hsinchu County Government.
Additionally, national security units such as the NSB and Executive Yuan ministries including the Ministry of the Interior, Ministry of National Defense, Ministry of Transportation and Communications, Ministry of Justice and Ministry of Education took part. A total of 25 organizations and some 200 staff were in attendance today.
The Executive Yuan pointed out that in the discussions, the nation especially invited allied countries as well as experts in intelligence and homeland security to exchange views on various safety measures and strategies and their actual situational operation in the 2017 Summer Universiade.
The symposium was co-chaired by Minister without Portfolio Yeh Shin-cheng and NSB Director-General Lee Shying-jow. In his address, Yeh pointed out that the 2017 Summer Universiade surpasses the scope of any international competition the ROC has ever hosted, and security is the core value and key foundation for any event to be successful.
Yeh emphasized that security work must be effective in responding to any human-triggered crisis or terrorist threat, including infiltration by international terrorists, destruction by extremists, damage to key infrastructure, nuclear and biological threats, and various other means that would affect the welfare of people's lives and property. The various ministries and agencies must closely collaborate, utilizing their respective expertise.
In recent years national homeland security work has faced severe challenges, Yeh pointed out. The ROC has close and frequent exchanges with the international community, and its society is developing in a diverse manner. Homeland security therefore cannot be taken lightly and must be considered with a scrupulous attitude. Yeh especially asked all participating staff to enhance their response capabilities, bolstered through cross-field professional discussion, experience sharing and practical simulations, to minimize any possible danger and ensure that the international competition will proceed smoothly and successfully.
Lee urged vigilance against lone-wolf terrorist attacks, noting that they have occurred one after the other in such countries as the U.S., Australia and France even though those countries have all implemented strict counter-terrorism measures. This shows the difficulty of preventing these abnormal cases perpetrated by self-radicalized individuals who neither belong to any terrorist organization nor receive any guidance. Executive and national security agencies as well as civic organizations must integrate to face this daunting challenge, building a tight security network in order to discover and prevent attacks before they occur.
The Executive Yuan stated that it will strive to demonstrate the nation's outstanding management capabilities and ensure a safe and friendly environment by helping the TCG hold the event successfully. With a scrupulous attitude and in coordination with the nation's security agencies as well as central and local governmental forces, the Executive Yuan will initiate various measures in response to different security needs.
The Executive Yuan has planned counter-terrorism exercises from 2014 to 2016 to bolster capabilities, alternating between topical discussions, situational simulation training and military exercises to focus on ensuring security during the Summer Universiade.
In the 2014 international security symposium, the Executive Yuan invited security experts from the U.S., Israel, the European Union and Canada, local professionals and relevant agencies to hold in-depth discussion on security strategies and strengthen international links and collaboration.
This year, the international symposiums have taken a step further, via a two-phase training mode and a symposium based on practical operation, to strengthen and consolidate the security apparatus. This is expected to provide a formidable foundation for the next phase of cross-ministerial field exercises and for ensuring security during the Universiade.
Together with all the nation's citizens and working hand in hand with local governments, the Executive Yuan looks forward to participating in the Summer Universiade to make Taiwan proud on the world stage.