TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan's authorities have been called upon to improve gun control measures after a Thursday (July 14) homicide sent the country reeling.
Four individuals were slayed and one was critically injured in a shocking execution-style murder at Kang Jian Biotech Co. in Nantou County on Thursday night. The suspect, a male believed to be familiar with the workings of the company, was nabbed by police at a sauna in Taichung on Friday (July 15) afternoon.
The incident has thrown a spotlight on Taiwan’s firearms regulations, an issue that has sparked discussion following the assassination of former Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo last week.
According to the National Police Agency and Coast Guard Administration, the number of shootings in Taiwan has risen to 100 in 2021, after there were less than 100 between 2017 and 2020. This means that last year a shooting took place every 3.65 days on average, said Legislator Ho Chih-wei (何志偉) of the Democratic Progressive Party in a press conference.
To provide a clearer picture of the country’s illegal gun ownership, Ho said 9,290 firearms and 317,806 bullets have been seized since 2017. New Taipei and Taipei accounted for the lion’s share, with 1,217 and 1,077 guns, respectively.
Expressing concern over the easy access to arms information online, including the availability of shotguns in Facebook groups, Ho said better source control and a sounder approach to reining in gun-related crime is badly needed, wrote Liberty Times.
