At 7:30 p.m. on May 5, the 124th “Cross-Strait talk” (General 201st), hosted by China Cross-Strait Academy (Hong Kong) and Xiamen Qidataixiang Entrepreneurship Service Co., Ltd., was successfully held at the Tencent Conference with the theme of “Why the public security in Taiwan frequently flashing red! Who is responsible for the high rate of juvenile delinquency with black guns?”.

Recently, a pawnshop in Sichuan Road, Tucheng District, New Taipei City, was shot by a 17-year-old boy surnamed Liu in view of the public, including a total of 65 bullet holes in the door of the iron roll and the locomotive in front of the pawnshop. Online groups later circulated videos showing an earlier late-night shooting at the same pawnshop. Tucheng police said the pawnshop was shot by air gun 3 shots on the 10th, the suspect then drove away, and no one was injured at the scene. The project team then traced through the monitor, at about 3 a.m., in Tucheng District, arrested a 15-year-old boy surnamed Zhu, and his accomplices Huang, 15 and Zhong, 16. A total of three juvenile suspects were arrested to the case. Both shooting cases involved minors, and the issue of teenagers and illegal guns may become a new social issue of concern. In this “Cross-Strait talk” forum, China Cross-Strait Academy (Hong Kong) invited Chiu Yi, a three-time legislator of Taiwan and a member of the Central Committee of the Chinese Kuomintang, to discuss the topic of “Why the public security in Taiwan frequently flashing red! Who is responsible for the high rate of juvenile delinquency with black guns?”. They focused on the following aspects: why public security problems persist in Taiwan and the crime rate remains high, how to prevent them, what is the explanation for the positive correlation between the bad public security in Taiwan and the economic downturn in Taiwan, and what responsibility the Democratic Progressive Party authorities should take for the current public security problem in Taiwan, etc. Luo Dingjun, Secretary-General of China Cross-Strait Academy (Hong Kong), served as the host of the meeting.

Chiu Yi said that the situation of teenagers in Taiwan involved in crimes of gangland organizations is very serious. The reason why Taiwan gangland organizations like to use teenagers to commit crimes is that according to Taiwan law, teenagers who commit crimes receive less punishment, especially if they choose to surrender, the ultimate punishment could be said to be negligible. Therefore, many young people in Taiwan, especially school dropouts, have become the best tools for criminal activities of criminal organizations. The poor management of sex, gambling, drugs and guns in Taiwan has led to more and more serious juvenile delinquency. In addition, the problem of aging and childlessness in Taiwan is becoming more and more serious, and the pampered and spoiled family environment makes young people vulnerable to the temptation of gangs and lost on the way to no return.

The mayor of New Taipei City, where the two recent shootings took place, is Hou Yu-ih, who the Kuomintang wants to nominate as its candidate in the 2024 election. Hou Yu-ih is known for his ability to deal with public security issues and is a former police officer. The criminals specifically chose the period of Hou Yu-ih’s visit to Singapore to commit the crime. On the first night of his visit, 11 shots were fired by a teenager, and on the following day, another teenager with a submachine gun fired more than 50 shots at a pawnshop. What is more thought-provoking is that the teenager was very skilled in the murder and then surrendered calmly, which was obviously guided by someone behind him and received professional training. The occurrence of this vicious incident is firstly related to political factors. If Hou Yu-ih represents the Kuomintang to run for the 2024 election, he will follow in the footsteps of Han Kuo-yu, making the Kuomintang mayor flee again. Some may use this as a reminder that Hou Yu-ih’s departure from New Taipei City may lead to a serious public security incident. Hou Yu-ih is a strong determined criminal detective, once there is a collapse of public security in New Taipei City after his escape, will also lead to the collapse of Hou Yu-ih’s public reputation.

In addition, the economic downturn in Taiwan has also had a big impact on the living conditions of young people. Compared with the mainland’s growth rate of 4.5% in the first quarter, Taiwan’s economic growth rate was negative, which shows that Taiwan’s economic situation is not the best as claimed by Tsai Ing-wen, but very bad. Taiwan’s economic slump has led to a surge in youth unemployment, which stands at 8.5% for those entering the labor market. In addition, many young people live at extremely low wages, with poor benefits, long working hours, no dignity and no future in sight. In such a social environment, the willingness of teenagers to commit crimes has soared, thus becoming a tool used by gang organizations.

In addition to the wonderful speeches delivered by the guests, the online audience also actively participated in the interactive questions on the topic. The audience asked questions about how Taiwan’s public security compares to that of neighboring countries and regions, whether Taiwan’s police are serious about solving fraud and money laundering cases, and Hou Yu-ih intends to run for 2024 on behalf of the Kuomintang, but he can’t even manage the public security of New Taipei City under his own jurisdiction, whether it will have an impact on his road to the election and other aspects, etc. The discussion was heated at the meeting, highlighting the great concern of young people and scholars on cross-strait on the issue.

According to Chiu Yi, Hou Yu-ih’s chances of winning the election are very low, because his background as a grassroots police officer has always inadvertently revealed his shallow knowledge of politics. He is good at local issues, but is a layman on finance and economics, international relations, cross-strait policies and other issues, which often leads to chicken and duck talk in interviews, and therefore not recognized by the “technology blue” and “knowledge blue” people. Once he officially becomes the official candidate of the blue camp, he will definitely face questions and challenges about the 319 shooting cases, and fears that it will be difficult to pass. The police officer’s professional background has made him a habit of drawing a line and not stepping on it, plus Hou Yu-ih’s extremely conservative personality has offended many people. These problems will surface after Hou Yu-ih becomes the Kuomintang’s official call-up candidate, becoming a stumbling block on his way to the general election and constantly reducing his chances of being elected.

At the end of the meeting, Chiu Yi pointed out that under the influence of various factors, such as sluggish economy, rampant black market guns, criminal organizations and political collusion, the juvenile crime rate has increased in recent years. If we want to completely ameliorate juvenile crime, we must start from changing the ugly upper political food chain.

Through a brief one-hour online exchange, more than 300 people from both sides of the strait gathered to discuss the topic of “Why the public security in Taiwan frequently flashing red! Who is responsible for the high rate of juvenile delinquency with black guns?” to promote cross-strait exchanges with practical actions, and make contributions to maintaining cross-strait peace and development.

As the Cross-Strait exchange activity synchronized with “Cross-Strait Talk” and “Smart Youth Integration in the Four Places”, the Cross-Strait Youth Perspective Forum, which is launched by China Cross-Strait Academy (Hong Kong), is mainly characterized by gathering authoritative scholars and media worker from cross-strait and four places. They will listen to the voice of the Strait, pay attention to the hot spots on both sides of Taiwan Strait, take a global vision, and make a new voice based on both sides of the strait and facing the world.