Country Reports on Terrorism 2008 - 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 related 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 was still awaiting action by the legislature. If passed, it will 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.

The cabinet-level Counterterrorism Office (CTO) conducted several large-scale training exercises. In January, Taiwan law enforcement participated in an AIT sponsored Digital Video Conference with security organizers from the Salt Lake Olympics Games. In November, the CTO conducted an inter-ministerial exercise that covered natural disaster and counterterrorist responses. Taiwan 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.