Firearm News
Taiwan Police Chief Commends Forceful Use of Firearms
2 May 2016
China Post (Taiwan)
TAIPEI, Taiwan -- National Police Agency (NPA, 警政署) Director-general Chen Kuo-en (陳國恩) yesterday called for forceful use of firearms when circumstances allow so, as to ensure public safety.
With all the changes in society in recent years, it has been increasingly difficult to keep the streets safe for front-line police officers. As such, Chen expressed that he fully supports the force's correct and courageous use of firearms under the right circumstances,... (GunPolicy.org)
Taiwanese Authorities Seize Modified Guns, Drugs
11 September 2013
China Post (Taiwan)
TAIPEI, Taiwan - The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) recently cooperated with the Taoyuan County Police Bureau to arrest three suspects on charges of drug possession and firearm sales, seizing a large number of modified firearms and drugs.
Between Saturday and Monday authorities seized three modified guns, 28 bullets, two cartridges, a bullet-proof vest, 11.56 grams of heroine and 43.23 grams of amphetamines.
The Taoyuan District Prosecutors Office will prosecute... (GunPolicy.org)
United States,European Union,Taiwan,United Kingdom,Swaziland
Swaziland King Under Suspicion on Arms Deal
29 June 2013
Swazi Media Commentary (Gaborone)
News that Swaziland's army has taken delivery of another arms shipment has sparked fears that King Mswati is acting as an intermediary for a rogue state that cannot directly buy arms due to embargoes.
The Swazi Army took delivery of an arms shipment on Thursday (27 June 2013), including firearms and other military hardware.
Local media reported a cargo plane delivered the shipment under conditions of great secrecy.
The shipment has aroused the suspicion of the... (GunPolicy.org)
Indonesian Men Arrested for Alleged Unlicenced Replica Gun Selling
22 October 2012
Jakarta Globe
Jakarta Police arrested two men accused of selling unlicensed airsoft guns on social networking sites last week.
The men, identified only as "D" and "A.G.," were stood next to a table of realistic-looking airsoft guns in a press conference on Monday.
Police seized 187 airsoft guns, including replicas of pistols and assault rifles, in the raid.
"They sold the guns at fairly low prices, from Rp 3 million ($312) to Rp 6 million for the [assault rifles]," Jakarta... (GunPolicy.org)
Israel,Taiwan,United States,Sweden,Germany,France,United Kingdom,Oceania,Europe,Asia,Americas,Africa
Talks Begin at UN on Global, Legally Binding Arms, Ammo Trade Treaty
4 July 2012
Associated Press
UNITED NATIONS — The world's nations began a final push Tuesday for the first legally binding global treaty that would regulate the international arms trade and try to prevent the transfer of weapons to armed groups and terrorists.
The 193-member U.N. General Assembly is expected to approve the treaty, which has been in the works since 2006, when the U.S. voted against the resolution that launched the process. The Obama administration later reversed the George W.... (GunPolicy.org)
Police Seize More Than 2,000 Guns in Buildup to Taiwan Elections
8 January 2012
Taipei Times
Law enforcement personnel nationwide seized 2,213 illegal firearms during raids conducted over the past year as part of efforts to prevent violence from marring the Jan. 14 presidential and legislative elections.
According to statistics released by the Supreme Prosecutors' Office on Friday, since the National Police Agency launched its first nationwide crackdown on illegal firearms in February last year, the police have pursued 1,860 cases involving the illegal... (GunPolicy.org)
Taiwan Gun Group Joins Global Fight to Keep and Bear Arms
25 October 2011
Taipei Times
The Taiwan Defensive Firearms Association (TDFA) earlier this month became a member of the International Association for the Protection of Civilian Arms Rights (IAPCAR), a global gun rights association working to protect and expand the ability to keep and bear arms around the globe.
In a press release, IAPCAR said the TDFA was joining 16 other groups from nine countries on five continents that represent millions of firearm owners and citizens concerned about civilian... (GunPolicy.org)
Illegal Weapon Factory, 'Remodeled' Handguns Found in Taiwan Village
27 January 2010
China Post (Taiwan)
CHIAYI, Taiwan -- Chiayi Police yesterday crossed municipal lines to arrest a man who allegedly ran an underground weapons factory behind the facade of a registered green business in Chiayi County, local media reported.
Kuo Wen-tsan was also suspected of illegal arms sale, given the sophisticated construction of six remodeled handguns found on scene, police were quoted as saying. But Kuo was cited as telling authorities that he was merely reconstructing weapons for fun... (GunPolicy.org)
Taiwan Threatens to Sue Client Countries Re-exporting Its Ammunition
20 January 2010
Taiwan News / CNA
TAIPEI -- The Ministry of National Defense (MND) will sue contractors if they have resold expired ammunition owned by Taiwan to an African country as has been reported, an official said Wednesday.
"We have a detailed and sophisticated plan to oversee contracts on the destruction of outdated ammunition, " said Wang Kuo-wu, director of the military procurement center under the MND Armaments Bureau.
"In terms of form and documentation, there should be no problems or... (GunPolicy.org)
Call for US-style Gun Law Rejected in Taiwan, Strict Controls to Stay
23 October 2009
China Post (Taiwan)
TAIPEI, Taiwan — The government has decided to maintain the present tight gun control despite a call for liberalizing the regulations on owning lethal weapons to help people defend themselves.
Legislator Yu Tien of the opposition Democratic Progressive Party urged the government yesterday to follow the U.S. practice of easing the rules to allow law-abiding citizens to own handguns to protect themselves.
Yu said that gun smuggling is "quite common" in Taiwan, which... (GunPolicy.org)
Taiwan 'Will Not Consider' Increased Legal Gun Ownership, Says Minister
22 October 2009
Taiwan News / CAN
TAIPEI — The government will not consider legalizing gun ownership by the country's citizens, Minister of the Interior Jiang Yi-huah said Thursday.
Jiang said the disadvantages of allowing gun ownership outweigh the benefits and that the ministry will only consider allowing security guards to carry firearms.
He was responding to a call by opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Yu Tien to allow law-abiding citizens to own handguns to protect... (GunPolicy.org)
Taiwan,Philippines,France,Italy,Germany,Israel,United States
181 Smuggled US, European Guns in Taiwan Seizure of Philippine Cargo
27 September 2009
Central News Agency (Taiwan)
Six suspects, including the ring's mastermind surnamed Ting, were arrested in what may be the largest arms smuggling bust ever in Taiwan, the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said yesterday.
CIB officials displayed their haul of 181 guns and 22,685 rounds of ammunition in the lobby of its crime-fighting center in southern Taiwan's Kaohsiung City.
Powerful submachine guns, rifles, and expanding "dum dum" bullets were shown in the center, which took on the look of an... (GunPolicy.org)
181 Weapons, Submachine Guns Seized from Taiwan-Philippines Fisher
27 September 2009
Agence France Presse
TAIPEI — Taiwan police have cracked a major firearms smuggling ring, seizing five men and 181 guns — the largest haul found in the island's history — officials said Sunday.
The police found the weapons in Hung Hsing, a fishing boat based southern Kaohsiung city, which had just returned on Friday from the Philippines, the officials said.
The police immediately arrested alleged ring leader Ting Chen-hsiang, 53, and two other men in a private house. The fourth and... (GunPolicy.org)
Gun Crime, Homicide Down, Weapon Seizures Up in Taiwan: Ministry
29 October 2007
Taipei Times / CNA
The number of gun crimes handled by law enforcement agencies around the country totaled 331 in the first nine months of this year, down by 30 percent, or 135 cases, from the year before, Ministry of the Interior officials said yesterday.
Most of the cases involved robbery, homicide, extortion, kidnapping, offenses against personal liberty and rape or assault and battery, in that order, ministry officials said.
Of the total, 281 were solved with the arrests of the... (GunPolicy.org)
Philippine Police Crack Taiwan/Japan Yakuza Gun Trafficking Ring
5 June 2007
Central News Agency / eTaiwanNews.com
Police in the Philippines have arrested Yamaguchi-gumi Akire Nemoto, believed to be the right hand man to leader Yasuo Takagi. He was arrested in Manila for arms smuggling, seizing weapons including a U.S.-made KG99 assault rifle, two mini pistols and numerous rounds of ammunition.
Police also discovered that members of the Bamboo Union flew to Manila from Taiwan to meet with Nemoto to discuss deals involving drugs, firearms smuggling and cross-border money... (GunPolicy.org)
Police Meet to Combat Illegal Gun Trafficking from Philippines to Japan
12 March 2007
Manila Standard
Eight police generals will leave for Japan today for a four-day meeting on gun control in Tokyo in the wake of the Japanese' growing concerns over rising gun smuggling cases in the Asia-Pacific region.
The Philippine National Police and the Japan Police will also discuss initiatives on crime scene investigations and compare notes on new strategies, techniques and equipment in dealing with criminals.
Those given authority to attend the Japan conference were the... (GunPolicy.org)
Philippine Police Connive With Licensed Dealers to Smuggle Guns to Taiwan
5 March 2007
Manila Standard
Some police officers appear to be conniving with gun dealers in smuggling guns to Taiwan and other countries in Asia, documents show.
Investigators have recorded two cases of gun smuggling into Taiwan — one on Oct. 5, 2000, and another on July 13, 2006 — of 214 high-powered firearms from the Philippines. In both cases, police were able to track down five of 150 units of the British-made Heckler & Koch MP5A sub-machine guns, which were delivered to the National... (GunPolicy.org)
Solomon Islands,Australia,Taiwan
Guns for the Palace Guard in Solomon Islands: Australia Has Some Worries
8 February 2007
Austral Policy Forum, Nautilus Institute, Opinion
If ever there was a signal likely to invite suspicion of budding despotism, surely it's the leader of a penurious island nation racing to form a 'Close Personal Protection Unit' of armed guards for his own use. Although Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare may yet provide evidence of a convincing need, his attempt to fly a hand-picked team of 50 for weapon training in Taiwan was seen in Honiara and elsewhere as the sign of a slippery slope.
It was only in... (GunPolicy.org)
Taiwan,Australia,Solomon Islands
Taiwan Rejects Australian Protests Over Solomon Islands Gun Training
26 January 2007
Taipei Times
Taiwan's assistance in training the Solomon Islands police force is based on mutual cooperation agreements reached during the first Taiwan-Pacific Allies Summit held last September, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday.
The ministry made the remarks in response to a story in the Sydney Morning Herald on Tuesday which said that 12 Solomon Islands police officers had been sent to Taiwan for special training.
The article said that Solomon Islands Prime... (GunPolicy.org)
Solomon Islands,Australia,Taiwan
Taiwan Gun Training for Solomons PM's Personal Bodyguards Quashed
19 January 2007
Radio New Zealand International (Pacific shortwave)
A controversial plan by the Solomon Islands prime minister to allow firearms training in Taipei for his personal police bodyguards, has been quashed by the Taiwanese government.
Manasseh Sogavare's government wants to rearm its police force, a move opposed by the Australian-led region assistance mission in the country.
The plan has also been condemned by civil groups fearful of a return to violence and ethnic unrest in the Solomons.
Mr Sogavare has brushed aside an... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Radio New Zealand International (Pacific shortwave)