Just how much of threat do illegal weapons pose to Taiwan?

"Kaohsiung station! Kaohsiung station! Exiting passengers, please remember to don your bulletproof vests!" Have you heard that quip about the crime problem in southern Taiwan?

Or have you ever jumped in terror at the sound of firecrackers, mistaking them for gunfire?

Exaggerations? Perhaps. But both questions more or less reflect the current deterioration of law and order on Taiwan and the prevalence of illegal weapons.

Besides doing their best to draw ballots, several candidates in last year's elections ended up attracting bullets, becoming the targets of gunmen. Ch'en Yung-yuan, a candidate for the Changhua city council; Ts'ai Chin-hsing, a candidate for the mayor of Taliao township; and Liu Feng-ming, a candidate for the mayor of Sanshan village, were attacked in shootings, and the homes of Li Ya-ching, a provincial councilman; Shih Hsing-jung, a former provincial councilman; and Ts'ai Po-ch'ung, a candidate for mayor of Peikang village, were strafed by gunfire. . . . Unheard of in the past, incidents like these unfolded one after another like the hair-raising scenes of a gangster movie.

To what degree has law and order on Taiwan deteriorated? According to Supreme Court statistics, some 69 criminals were executed during the year 1989 alone compared with 46 during the five-year period from 1984 to 1988.

Minister of Justice Lu Yu-wen indicates that 1,651 cases related to illegal possession of weapons were investigated last year and 2,341 suspects were indicted.

And Chi Hsi-pin, deputy director general of the National Police Administration, reports sadly that nearly 10,000 illegal weapons were seized last year and 94 people lost their lives in gun-related incidents, of whom 89 (including six police officers) were killed by Black Star or Red Star weapons made in Communist China.

Shootings, robberies, kidnappings, extortion, rape . . . a host of violent crimes have seriously disrupted the social order and troubled people in their daily lives. Big stock players, wealthy businessmen, and the owners of construction firms--the "highrisk groups" that are prime targets for criminal attacks--have become apprehensive and fearful, hiring security teams to protect their homes and bodyguards when they go out and even giving up their imported limos for inconspicuous domestic sedans. Jewelry stores and pawnshops are strengthening their security systems or closing earlier in the day, and convenience stores are making it a practice to keep no more than petty change on hand at night.

Nor has the effect of the crime problem on the economy been limited to that. According to the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the total amount of overseas investment approved during August 1989 was US$277.5 million, thirty times greater than the figure for the same month of 1988. Along with rising wages, the labor shortage, and industrial restructuring, the crime problem is considered an important factor that has contributed to the rise in overseas investment.

The deterioration of law and order has also spurred on emigration. According to the Bureau of Entry and Exit, 168,900 people exited the country without returning during the five years from 1984 to 1988, while nearly 100,000 did so last year alone, setting a new record in many years.

Illegal weapons can be called the chief culprit behind the worsening crime situation, and most of them come from mainland China.

Chang Chin-heng, director of the Investigation Division of the Criminal Investigation Bureau, indicates that smugglers and gangsters work hand in glove in the business, buying weapons from factories on the mainland, shipping them on fishing boats to Taiwan, and reselling them for a high profit to criminals on Taiwan.

The spread of illegal weapons and the worsening crime situation are receiving the full attention of the police system at all levels. To combat the problems, the National Police Administration is adopting the three measures of expanding on-the-spot searches, blocking the sources of illegal weapons, and encouraging increased cooperation between the police and the public, Deputy Director General Chi Hsi-pin says.

Expanded spot searches were initiated last October 15. Blocking the sources of illegal weapons is the core task of the campaign, and police officers have already been sent to the Philippines, Thailand, and other countries in Southeast Asia to collect information on supply channels.

As for Black Star and Red Star guns from the mainland, Chang says that the government has asked Interpol headquarters, in Lyons, France, to in struct the Communists to clamp down on the smuggling.

In addition, the police have been beefing up customs and harbor inspection work. On January I they established Special Strike Force Seven, which will set up teams in the six strategic locations of Tamsui, Kaohsiung, Taichung, Penghu, Tainan, and Suao over the next three years and be responsible for keeping the coastline, harbors, and river mouths of the island free from smuggling. Another team will work closely with the Council of Agriculture to protect fishing boats.

In furthering cooperation from the citizenry, the police encourage the public to make use of the telephone number "110" and have announced rewards for reporting illegal weapons, ammunition, and explosives (see table). Chang particularly stresses cooperation from the citizenry as an indispensable element in the fight against crime.

In addition, the Ministry of Justice has drafted legislation stiffening penalties against crimes that seriously endanger the social order but which also gives those who have gone astray a chance to reform and go straight (holders of illegal weapons can avoid punishment if they turn themselves in and hand over their weapons and ammunition within three months of enactment.)

The bill is currently under review by the Legislative Yuan and has yet to be voted on and signed by the president. But preserving law and order is not just a matter of toughening up laws and seizing more weapons. It has to start with the fundamentals--with actively advancing social welfare, with improving education and the economic system, and with imbuing respect for the law in the public. . . . Only in that way can we enjoy abiding security in our surroundings and no longer live in fear of "mistaking firecrackers for gunfire."

Will these steps become mere hollow slogans? The key really lies in each of us. The battle against illegal weapons has just begun.

[Picture Caption]

Communist Black Star revolvers are black with a star mark on the handle.

Government spokesman Shaw Yu-ming, director-general of the Government Information Office, sternly admonished the Communist Chinese authorities to cease abetting the flow of Black Star and Red Star revolvers into Taiwan.

Sea, land, and air channels must be sealed off tightly to eliminate loopholes for smuggling.

Special Strike Force Seven has eight patrol boats.

Entertainment parlors, gambling dens, and underground nightclubs are the mostly likely kinds of places for violent incidents to occur.

Government spokesman Shaw Yu-ming, director-general of the Government Information Office, sternly admonished the Communist Chinese authorities to cease abetting the flow of Black Star and Red Star revolvers into Taiwan.

Sea, land, and air channels must be sealed off tightly to eliminate loopholes for smuggling.

Special Strike Force Seven has eight patrol boats.

Entertainment parlors, gambling dens, and underground nightclubs are the mostly likely kinds of places for violent incidents to occur.