Police on high alert after MRT bomb threat

Police on high alert after MRT bomb threat

2025-12-22

And police all around Taiwan remain in high alert after last week’s stabbing in Taipei. The Railway Police Bureau received a report on Sunday evening that an internet user had threatened to place a bomb in an MRT car and detonate it at 1:30 on Monday afternoon. The poster did not specify which MRT system, so police alert was increased at key stations on the rail network. Let’s hear more.

Member of public
Was riding MRT
No wonder that just now I noticed there were a lot more police officers. Seeing the increased police presence makes me feel safe. I also noticed people seem more alert on the MRT. There are less people wearing headphones.

Voice of Liu Shuang-huo
Taiwan Railway Corporation
We must continue patrols and inspections at this sensitive period. Though the threat turned out to be false, we will strengthen our counterterrorism and disaster-prevention measures during this time.

Chu Chih-yu
Taiwan Railway Union
All along, we’ve been saying that there needs to be professionally trained security staff on trains to respond to incidents, inside trains or at stations. It’s a pressing need at this moment.

Police found that the account that posted the threat was registered in Nepal, and the message was posted from Cambodia. Though IP addresses involved in the matter were overseas, investigators say they will deal with the case to the fullest extent of the law.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
Mon to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
Tue to Sat at 1 am on Channel 53

#threat #bombthreat #taiwan #publicsafety #taipeiattacks

網路發文"捷運車廂炸彈13:30引爆" 北中南共構大站警戒

2025-12-22

張文事件後餘波盪漾，鐵警週日(21)晚間接獲消息，有人在網路上揚言要在捷運車廂放炸彈，並且於週一下午一點半時引爆。當下立刻通知台鐵，由於恐攻訊息並沒有說是哪個捷運，因此全台南到北的共構大站，都加強警力戒備。

[[民眾]]
“難怪剛剛在坐捷運的時候，發現警力的數量又增加很多。從他們增加的警力來看，應該是我們民眾是可以安全的。我覺得剛剛在坐捷運的時候，也發現了很多人比較有警惕，所以比較沒有戴耳機。”

[[聲源: 台鐵公司副總經理劉雙火]]
“我們一定要持續(巡檢)，這個敏感的重點時間，縱使今天(22)下午是偽訊息啦，但是這個防恐、防災的部分，這一段時間我們都會特別的加強。”

[[台鐵產業工會秘書長朱智宇]]
“我們一直在講的，列車上要有專業的保全人員去做應變，我想不管是車站或者是車廂，現在都有非常急迫的需要。”

警方調查發出恐攻訊息的帳號，是在尼泊爾註冊，訊息卻從柬埔寨發出。境外IP作祟，不管是誰，刑警都會嚴查，法辦到底。

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Taipei Police defends officers amid criticisms in wake of attacks

Taipei police were criticized for being slow to respond to last Friday’s attacks. Tthe aggressor had carried out two attacks within 75 minutes, and committed arson three times earlier in the afternoon before the stabbings. On Monday, the director of the Taipei City Police Department explained that given the circumstances and how meticulously the attacks were planned, the officers did done all they possibly could have.

Taipei police are under fire for being “slow” in responding to last Friday’s mass attacks and identifying the instigator. It’s alleged that their handheld transceivers weren’t functioning at the time of the crime.

Huang Jie
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The walkie-takie wasn’t connected. That’s really serious.

Chang Jung-hsing
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It’s simply impossible. They had to verify first that the arsonist was the same person. I believe the police were racing with time when they arrived at the scene.

Looking at security footage from the day, the attacker appeared quite confident while he carried a gas tank to the back of a hotpot restaurant on Chang’an East Road and set the vehicles parked there on fire. At 3:48 p.m. on the 19th, he first committed arson at two locations on Linsen North Road, and then at Chang’an East Road. Critics are wondering why the police did not react there and then.

Chang Yao-jen
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The leadership at the local police station was notified in the group chat by borough wardens of the arsons on separate occasions. At 5:41 p.m., we identified the instigator as the man surnamed Chang.

After the three arson attacks, Chang returned to his rented residence and set it on fire. A great number of canisters were found on the site. Within an hour, he committed arson at three different locations, and it took just as long to track him down.

Chen Jui-chi
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After his facial features were captured more clearly on camera, and corroborated with the intel from Zhongshan Precinct, we interviewed the landlord of his residence on Gongyuan Road to confirm his identity. The entire process took 73 minutes. Immediately afterwards, we began our mission to capture him.

By then, the aggressor had begun to set off smoke bombs at Taipei Main Station. The chief of the local police station and his team arrived on scene just nine minutes later, when the attacker had already gone to his hotel room to change and pick up more weapons for the knife attacks at Zhongshan. Within 75 minutes, he’d committed homicide in two locations. Why wasn’t he stopped?

Chen Jui-chi
Zhongcheng First Precinct director
He set off 17 smoke bombs and Molotov cocktails to induce chaos at the scene. It was clearly planned in advance to divert the police. But our team still managed to identify him despite his efforts to distract us.

Amid criticism, the Taipei City police hopes that the public could be more understanding and offer encouragement to officers.

Lee Hsi-ho
Taipei City Police Department director
We humbly accept all criticisms and feedback, but I believe our colleagues can all do with simple words of encouragement.

According to the police, the aggressor had planned the whole attack so well that officers did all they could. They say they will continue to remain vigilant, as always.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
Mon to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
Tue to Sat at 1 am on Channel 53

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Japanese celebrity Otani Mondo defends Taiwan amid China spat

Japanese celebrity Otani Mondo has come to Taiwan many times over the years. Now as relations between Japan and China sour over the prime minister’s comments about Taiwan, the film star has been hitting back on comments by Chinese netizens. Taiwanese are praising him, saying that foreigners love Taiwan even more than Taiwanese do. Otani just said that he was voicing what the majority of Japanese think.

A commenter online tells President Lai Ching-te to get out of Taiwan, and claims that Taiwan is China’s. Japanese film star Otani Mondo won’t stand for it. In a response, he asks if they need to get their head checked. Another says that Taiwan is a part of China. Otani replied: “You have to listen to us, because we have a president.” The ever-outspoken Otani has recently taken it upon himself to hit back on Chinese commenters in defense of Taiwan’s sovereignty.

Voice of Otani Mondo
Japanese celebrity
I don’t represent the views of all Japanese people, but what I say is what most Japanese think.

After Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae last month said that an attack on Taiwan may constitute a “survival-threatening situation” for Japan, Chinese people have been lashing out online. Otani isn’t taking it sitting down, even praising Takaichi for doing a great job as premier.

Voice of Otani Mondo
Japanese celebrity
Taiwan and Japan have great relations. Our prime minister is also doing a great job. It’s that simple. Ever since I first brought the taekwondo team to Taiwan, everyone was so nice to me. So Taiwan is my second home, my second country.

At 45, Otani has been developing his entertainment and fitness careers in Taiwan for 20 years now. Calling himself a Japanese fitness icon, Otani works as an actor, model, and even an agent. At a time of tense cross-strait relations, he’s standing up for his second home.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
Mon to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
Tue to Sat at 1 am on Channel 53

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Taipei Philharmonic to celebrate 40 years with grand Mahler symphony

The Taipei Philharmonic Orchestra is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. It has gone abroad to perform many times over the decades, including in Vienna’s Golden Hall, Chicago, and Boston. Before the year closes, the orchestra will perform one more time, bringing the masterpiece Symphony No. 8 by the Austrian composer Gustav Mahler to the National Concert Hall in Taipei. Because of its grant scale, the piece is often called the “Symphony of a Thousand.”

The symphony swells to a soaring crescendo as traditional Taiwanese puppets writhe to the music. The Taipei Philharmonic Orchestra was recently invited to the Osaka World Expo in Japan to perform a unique fusion of classical Western and Taiwanese folk music, exhibiting Taiwan’s global cultural influence.

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Chen Wei-chung
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For more Taiwan news, tune in:
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During the COVID-19 pandemic, Italian YouTuber Davide Biale, who goes by the handle Davie504, spent US$10,000 out-of-pocket to buy 15 bass guitars for a fan giveaway. It was for a video that was to be the biggest sponsorship deal of his career. But just before he was about to post it, the company made a demand over a comment he previously wrote, saying, “Taiwan IS a country.”

Davide Biale
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They wanted me to delete one YouTube comment I wrote one year earlier. I stared at my screen like I just got jump-scared in a horror game. It turns out the mobile game company was from a country that didn’t like at all this kind of comment. You can guess which country.

The story happened five years before. At the time, the mobile game company partnered with the influencer to create a 60-second video for a total of US$75,000, or about NT$2.33 million. But the company waited until after the video was finished and the contract signed to demand that he delete the comment, or else it would cancel the entire deal.

Davide Biale
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And this is not even political. It’s just geography. Like, literally. Just go on Google Maps and you will see it too. What really matters is, I kept my integrity, my comment, my free speech, and I learned a powerful lesson. Some brands want to buy your silence more than your sponsorship.

Davide ended up rejecting the sponsorship and posted the video anyway with the sections promoting the game taken out, absorbing all costs himself. It’s common knowledge that Taiwan is a country, he said. After all, he’s married to a Taiwanese woman and lived in Taiwan for a time.

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The Alishan Sunrise Concert, which combines stunning cloudscapes with live music, has become a hallmark of Chiayi’s New Year celebrations. The theme of the 2026 concert is “Dreams Above the Clouds.”

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Weng Chang-liang
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We’re in our 24th year. Every year we celebrate New Year’s Day with everyone at an altitude of 2,400 meters on Alishan. We start our performances at around 5:30 a.m. through to 7 a.m. when the sun rises. When the sun rises, we welcome the first day of the New Year with Beethoven’s Ode to Joy to allow everyone to make the best resolutions on New Year’s Day.

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For more Taiwan news, tune in:
Mon to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
Tue to Sat at 1 am on Channel 53

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Exclusive: man who sacrificed himself in Taipei stabbings, per friend of 30+ years

One of the victims of last Friday’s mass stabbing was Yu Chia-chang, a Taoyuan resident who tried stopping the attacks near Exit M7 of MRT Taipei Main Station. Sadly, he was stabbed to death by the attacker, much to the shock and horror of friends and family. One friend of more than 30 years recounted that Yu once said he would’ve tried to stop the 2014 Taipei metro attack if he had been present. And his action 11 years later revealed him as a true person of his word and honor.

Mr. Lin says when the identity of the man who tried to stop last Friday’s mass-stabbing was revealed bit by bit, he still hoped it wasn’t his friend of more than 30 years, Yu Chia-chang. However, he soon had to accept it was, after texts to him in the friend group were left unanswered.

Mr. Lin
Friend of Yu Chia-chang
What comes first: tomorrow, or an accident?

Mr. Lin traveled from Linkou in New Taipei to Taipei Main Station to offer flowers to his late friend who died trying to restrain the aggressor. He also offered a salute to Yu, since they did mandatory military service together. He recalled how 11 years ago, following the 2014 Taipei Metro attack, Yu mentioned that he would have tried to stop the attacker if he were present.

Mr. Lin
Friend of Yu Chia-chang
So you did act on what you said you’d do more than 10 years ago. But I still think you shouldn’t have been so rash… you need to consider your age. You’re no longer young. That said, we’re still immensely grateful. We’ll always remember your bravery in the depths of our heart.

The photo was taken when the group of friends last met up. They were all smiles. Those who knew 57-year-old Yu all said he was your average good guy and a family man. He chose to reside in Taoyuan and commute to Taipei for work so he could take care of his aging mother. What happened last Friday was the utmost tragedy.

Peng Shih-sung
Zhongxing Borough warden
His mother says he’s always been an honest and straightforward person who stands up for the less fortunate, so what happened didn’t surprise me at all. He just bought a new place in Taoyuan and a new car. He hasn’t even had a chance to drive his new car.

Everyone is paying tribute to the late Yu Chia-chang for his courageous and selfless deed.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
Mon to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
Tue to Sat at 1 am on Channel 53

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