Country Reports on Terrorism 2007 - Taiwan

Taiwan is not a member of the United Nations and, therefore, is not subject to UNSC Resolutions and cannot join UN conventions and protocols related to terrorist financing. Nonetheless, Taiwan sought to implement, to the maximum extent possible, all UN resolutions relating to combating terrorism and terrorist finance issues. Taiwan continued to provide rapid and thorough responses on terrorism financing issues to the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT). In 2006, Taiwan's Executive Yuan submitted an "Antiterrorist Action Law" to the Legislative Yuan. This bill would empower the Financial Supervisory Commission to seize assets of entities involved in terrorist activities, and employ a package of trade, travel, and financial sanctions against North Korea in response to UNSCR 1718. These items were under review at year's end.

The cabinet-level Counterterrorism Office (CTO) conducted several large-scale training exercises. In December, the CTO conducted its most recent exercise in Kaohsiung in preparation for the 2009 World Games. While the primary focus of this exercise was counterterrorism, it also included crisis management, disaster preparedness, and island-wide civilian military mobilization. Taiwan is currently engaged in seeking ways to harden and protect its critical infrastructure, in order to maintain continuity of operations and government in the event of an attack or a disaster.