Diplomatic and police agencies have a handle on resolving the murder of a Taiwanese man and kidnapping of his Taiwanese companion while traveling in Malaysia, Premier Jiang said at today's public security meeting.
The premier stated that the government immediately pursued all possible channels to deal with the case and enjoined related agencies not to let up but to persist in their efforts so that the incident can quickly come to a close.
A number of other topics were also discussed at today's meeting, including narcotics control, law enforcement, public safety measures for the upcoming holidays, fire safety, fireworks labeling, disaster rescue and fraudulent elderly mutual aid cooperatives.
The premier commended the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) Investigation Bureau's seizure of 103 kilograms (kg) of heroin at the Port of Kaohsiung last month and the Ministry of the Interior's (MOI) interception of 229 kg of the same drug at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on November 17. "The performance of drug enforcement has been very remarkable," he said.
The state of law and order in the nation is quite stable, Jiang remarked after hearing the MOI's report and analysis on the subject. From January to October, numerous major indicators such as total criminal cases, violent crime and theft have fallen while the overall case resolution rate has risen.
However, the resolution rate for fraud cases has dropped 0.99 percent year-on-year during the same period, while fraud committed online is on the rise, as are destructions of national land such as the illegal felling of trees and clearance of woodlands. Hence, the premier asked the National Police Agency and its subsidiary agencies to strengthen the prevention of such crimes.
As citizens will be very active in preparation for New Year's Day and Chinese New Year (January 1 and 31, 2014, respectively), this is a key time for public security and traffic control, Jiang said. He asked the MOI, Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) and other relevant agencies to work with local governments to quickly complete and properly execute seasonal response plans.
The premier also praised the nation's firefighters for their hard work in reducing the loss of life and property to fire, noting that there were 148 less fires and 54 less deaths from such accidents in Taiwan from January to October 2013 than there were in the first 10 months of 2012.
Regarding firecracker and fireworks certification, the premier reminded the MOI that the public holds the government's inspection standards and labels to a high standard, and the batch-by-batch inspection and review process for these products must be rigorously conducted. Thus far, the government has issued over 28.9 million labels for approved fireworks and firecrackers.
Moreover, with New Year's Eve and Chinese New Year around the corner, demand for these products will surge, and it is feared that illegal firecracker factories will be operated to take advantage. The premier thus instructed fire prevention, police, labor and other relevant agencies to step up inspections to safeguard people and property.
As for disaster response, by the end of October local governments had already completed 90.6 percent of this year's scheduled rescue drills, noted Jiang. He asked the MOI to continue supervision so that by year's end all such exercises will be completed.
The premier also instructed the MOI and MOTC to scrupulously supervise local governments to ensure the meticulous implementation of the second phase of its plan to increase the safety of narrow lanes, which involves the following:
- Drawing lines indicating no-parking areas and cracking down on all violations, even temporary parking
- Demolishing illegal constructions
- Conducting rescue drills
Prevention must be the highest principle for fire safety, so it is important that there are no obstructions in these lanes that would delay emergency rescue efforts, the premier emphasized.
The Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) briefed the premier on the implementation of mutual aid cooperatives for elderly people to handle the affairs of those who pass away. The premier directed the MOF, MOI, Ministry of Economic Affairs and MOJ Investigation Bureau to form a joint task force to examine and audit such organizations' monetary transactions in order to curb potential operational risks and prevent illegalities. The task force should deliberate and propose solutions for these issues and formulate complementary management mechanisms, he said.
According to media reports, several civil groups and companies have set up such cooperatives without even registering with the competent government authorities and have amassed enormous capital, leading to fraudulent bankruptcies and other monetary scams, Jiang indicated. The government has the responsibility to bring all these groups under its regulatory framework and heighten checks and inspections to safeguard participants' rights and interests, he affirmed.
The MOI and MOEA have already completed two relevant administrative management frameworks, and Jiang instructed these ministries to urge local governments to implement the regulatory measures with respect to civil groups and companies in accordance with the concrete policies and strategies formulated by the task force. He also asked the FSC and the MOJ to actively help these private-sector cooperatives become more transparent and develop in a healthy fashion.