Taiwan will launch a central command center to oversee security operations for the upcoming Taipei 2017 Summer Universiade, the largest international sporting event ever staged in the country, the Ministry of Interior announced July 24.
According to MOI Minister Yeh Jiunn-rong, the center will facilitate coordination between various central and local government departments throughout the Aug. 19-30 games, including the MOI’s National Police Agency and National Immigration Agency as well as Taipei City Government units.
The center is scheduled to commence operations alongside the opening of the Universiade Athletes’ Village Aug. 12. It will be headed by Yeh, with NPA Director-General Chen Kuo-en serving as executive officer.
Security operations overseen by the center will span such areas as crowd control, security and accreditation checks for athletes and personnel, site inspections and patrols, and traffic management. It will also supervise anti-terrorism measures to guard against improvised explosive devices and unauthorized drone use.
Taipei City Government has assembled a team to tackle unmanned aerial vehicle intrusions using cutting-edge technologies provided by National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology, a research and development organization of the Ministry of National Defense. NCSIST devices set to be employed during the games comprise a single-user high-powered net gun as well as a defense system that uses radar to detect unauthorized UAVs and deploy countermeasures including specialized capture drones.
All of these security procedures are in strict compliance with standards of the Switzerland-based supervising body of the Universiade, the International University Sports Federation (FISU), the MOI said.
Also known as the World University Games, the Universiade is an international sporting and cultural festival staged every two years in a different city worldwide. The 29th edition of the games in Taipei City involves 7,700-plus student athletes from 153 countries contesting 21 sports at 38 competition venues in Taipei, Hsinchu City, Hsinchu County, New Taipei and Taoyuan cities. (KWS-E)
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