Taiwan police vow 'zero-tolerance policy' for guns amid spate of shootings

台灣警方誓言在槍擊事件中對槍支採取“零容忍政策”

NPA pledges not to allow 'unscrupulous elements to carry their own guns and bully the weak'


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The National Police Agency (NPA) has announced that it has implemented a "zero-tolerance policy for firearms" amid an alarming rise in gun violence in recent weeks.

Among a number of recent incidents involving illegal handguns in Taiwan, a shootout occurred on March 2 between police and a wanted gangster in broad daylight next to the Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts, resulting in the death of the suspect. On Sunday (March 7), three shootings and two deaths involving illegal handguns were reported in Taipei, Taoyuan, and Kaohsiung.

During a press conference Thursday (March 11), National Police Agency (NPA) Director-General Chen Ja-chin (陳家欽) vowed that there will be a systematic crackdown on illegal firearms and called on the public to be patient and monitor the situation, reported CNA. That afternoon, the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) issued a press release in which it stated that the NPA has asked the CIB to dedicate all of its resources to tracking down and arresting suspects involved in the illegal gun trade.

The CIB pointed out that in order to choke off the flow of illegal firearms, the Legislative Yuan on June 10, 2020, passed an amendment to the Act Controlling Guns, Knives and Ammunition (槍砲彈藥刀械管制條例) that banned the manufacture, sale, transport, and transfer of banned imitation guns, punishable with a fine of NT$2.5 million (US$88,000). When it comes to the enforcement of gun laws, the bureau stated that the NPA has implemented a "zero-tolerance policy for firearms."

Police units have been told to focus their efforts on three key tasks, including "imitation gun factories," "all kinds of illegal firearms," and "armed high-risk fugitives." Their objectives are to apprehend illegal gun owners and protect the public from armed fugitives.

As for organized groups that possess or manufacture guns, police will work to cut off their revenue streams by tracking down the source. Police will work to seize the proceeds from crime rings and curb the possession of guns by such groups.

The NPA stressed that maintaining public order is an ongoing task and that it will "never allow unscrupulous elements to carry their own guns and bully the weak." It pledged that it will continue to "crack down on lawbreakers and punish troublemakers" in order to maintain public order.