The Education Division of TECO in Chicago invited an FBI official, Mr. Robert Simmons, to speak to students at the annual Midwest Taiwanese Students Associations Conference it was hosting for 40 representatives from Taiwanese Students Associations at 29 different universities.
The discussion session was titled "Terror attacks and safety". This is the first time that the annual conference has invited an expert to share such pertinent information with the gathered students. David Dong, Interim Director of the Education Division, explained that this was considered important because the division has received many questions from Taiwanese students and their parents recently about this issue. Brian Li, a Senior Officer of TECO in Chicago arranged this unprecedented open discussion session to inform the student representatives and answer their pressing questions.

Mr. Robert Simmons spoke about how the reach of the Internet allows those planning terror attacks to fully immerse themselves in a virtual world of violence. It no longer follows the patterns that it one did, where a potential terrorist might leak their plans to a few friends or family members. Instead, communication online has led to more and more terror attacks that happen without warning, and the FBI indicated that bombs are the most dangerous and also the most common weapons in terror attacks.

The FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force points out that anyone could be a terrorist. Most people don't believe that a terrorist attack could actually affect them, but it's important to remember that universities, shopping centers, and airports are all potential targets for attacks.

Mr. Simmons reminded Taiwanese students studying abroad on large campuses to maintain constant vigilance and pay close attention to sudden changes in surroundings - both in terms of people and objects. He gave an example to illustrate this. He asked the students to imagine what they would do if they saw someone removing a large amount of chemicals from a university lab one night. He also advised the students to familiarize themselves with the emergency alert systems that their university uses to help guarantee a peaceful time studying abroad.

Photo: Senior Officer Brian Li of TECO in Chicago chairing the meeting at which an FBI official discussed anti-terrorism measures