Taiwan National Security Bureau responds to photo op mishap

台灣國安局回應拍照事件

Unrelated individuals disrupt Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim’s photo with WBSC Premier12 champions


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Individuals from a nearby duty-free store disrupted Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim’s (蕭美琴) photo opportunity with the returning WBSC Premier12 champions, prompting a response from the National Security Bureau (NSB) over security lapses.

In response to legislators' requests, the NSB submitted a report identifying three major issues with the event, per CNA.

The first was a lack of proper planning for the movements of all individuals involved, making it difficult for NSB personnel to make real-time adjustments. The second issue was inadequate crowd control during the photo session, as the report stated the crowd's size overwhelmed workers, compounded by the first error.

The third fault was the lack of flexibility among NSB’s personnel, preventing them from managing the situation effectively. These failures ultimately led to unrelated individuals crashing the photo session between Hsiao and the returning champions.

While the NSB said the incident did not pose an immediate security threat to Hsiao, it acknowledged that it caused unnecessary disruptions and damaged public perception.

To prevent similar incidents, the NSB pledged to improve communication with relevant units, avoid crowded venues for such events, and use physical barriers to manage crowds. The incident has been added to the NSB’s list of key areas for improvement.