Premier Lai Ching-te today visited air cargo facilities in Taoyuan City to inspect efforts underway to implement the first step in the government's new-generation anti-drug strategy by stopping illicit shipments before entry into Taiwan and strengthening inspections at the border. The visit served as a public announcement of the government's resolve to combat drug crime and maintain law and order.
With numbers rising and ages falling, drug users in Taiwan are a national concern. The premier emphasized that the Executive Yuan will move with determination to carry out the new drug-fighting policy.
Prosecutors, police, investigators, the Coast Guard Administration, Customs Administration, and military police all play important roles in the fight against drugs, with the Coast Guard interdicting illicit shipments outside of Taiwan's borders, customs officers stopping them at ports of entry, and prosecutors, police, investigators and the military police working together in joint regional actions to seize drugs inside Taiwan. Premier Lai said such mutual cooperation and support among multiple levels of checks and controls is critical to the success of combatting drug crime and all anti-drug efforts.
Customs officers must be on heightened alert in order that no suspicious cargo goes unchecked, with extreme vigilance and attention the key to inspecting goods moving through customs. The premier instructed the Ministry of Finance to ensure that customs personnel are fully supported, and to carry out three important tasks. The first is to steadily raise the professionalism of customs officers by providing on-the-job training in the specialized skill of interpreting X-ray imaging produced while inspecting goods. Those who successfully complete the training should then be certified by the Customs Administration and rewarded with bonuses or increased pay. The second is to carefully scrutinize standard operating procedures in practice and strengthen the implementation of cargo and container inspection. The third is to provide the full complement of necessary equipment so that customs personnel have the right tools to carry out their mission and achieve their objectives.