Lone-Wolf Terrorism and Taiwan’s Counterterrorist Policies

Abstract

Since 9/11, the increased frequency of terrorist attacks has generated a wave of alarm and panic in the international community. As Taiwan did not have a counterterrorist system before 2004, encouraged by the thinking that Taiwan should not lag behind others, Taipei introduced an integrated administrative and national security system based on the mutual cooperation among the three pillars of administration, national security, and CT structure and institution. Nonetheless, a setback of Taiwan’s CT system lies in the potential overlap or confusion of responsibilities in the event of a terrorist attack. In recent years, the emergence of lone wolf terrorism has greatly increased the difficulty of CT while ISIS exacerbated the situation by deeming Taiwan as a potential target of attack. Such new developments have forced Taipei to take the issue of terrorism seriously. In this chapter, the authors offer a concise discussion of lone wolf terrorism and its challenges and Taiwan’s corresponding CT policies. The discussion consists of three parts. Part one discusses the definition and characteristics of lone wolf terrorism; part two explains Taiwan’s CT structure and adopted policies against recent cases; and part three concludes with some reflections on the future of CT for Taiwan.