•Publication Date：07/12/2011
•Source： Taiwan Today
•By Elaine Hou
Taiwan broke ground on its first-ever anti-terrorism training center in Taoyuan County July 11 as part of ROC government efforts to enhance the country’s domestic security capability.
“The center will be used to train members of the police, military and coast guard,” Minister of the Interior Jiang Yi-huah said at the groundbreaking ceremony. “It will also upgrade Taiwan’s ability to respond to terrorist attacks.”
According to the MOI, the NT$550 million (US$19 million) 30-hectare center is scheduled for completion in 2014.
Plans for the facility include fully equipped classrooms and dormitories, climbing and rappelling areas and a semi-covered hostage rescue center, which will enable trainees to practice hostage negotiation skills.
National Police Agency Director-General Wang Cho-Chiun said counterterrorism training supported by advanced intelligence gathering will lay the foundations for a new era of public safety and security throughout the nation.
During the groundbreaking ceremony for the anti-terrorism center, a police team performed a drill in which they rescued a hostage from armed kidnappers.
“The success of this drill is a vote of confidence in Taiwan’s security forces,” Wang said, adding that he expects the center to play an important role in boosting Taiwan’s anti-terrorism credentials in Asia.
