12/19, an indiscriminate stabbing attack occurred at Zhongshan MRT Station, resulting in multiple innocent casualties. The suspect later died during the police pursuit. In the aftermath, Taipei Metro and the police swiftly formed a task force and conducted investigations and drills. Yet the social shockwaves of the incident have not subsided. More than a decade has passed since the 2014 Taipei MRT random killing, but another major violent crime has once again stirred widespread anxiety and fear.
While the motive behind the attack is still under investigation, media and online discussions have already proliferated—ranging from self-protection strategies and judicial reform, to political conspiracy theories, concerns about copycat effects, and once again the familiar scene of the perpetrator’s family publicly apologizing before the media. It feels as if society has been transported back to 2019, when The World Between Us was airing and collective debates over random killings filled the public sphere.
The Legal and Social Change Survey Database conducted a survey that year focusing on homicide cases, asking respondents: “In your impression, have homicide cases increased or decreased in recent years?” This question measured public perceptions of homicide frequency (not limited to random killings). Results showed that over 70% of respondents believed homicide cases were increasing. However, when compared with official statistics released by the Criminal Investigation Bureau of the National Police Agency, the long-term trend in intentional homicide cases has actually been declining. This points to a clear gap between objective data and subjective public perception.
The survey also asked respondents about what they believed to be the causes of homicide. The most frequently cited reasons were “lenient legal punishment” and “courts rarely impose the death penalty,” which together accounted for over half of responses. The least cited reasons were “insufficient social support” and “excessive income inequality.”
Further analysis revealed that respondents who attributed homicides to “lenient punishment” or “rare use of the death penalty” were more likely to believe that homicide cases were increasing. Yet regardless of the attributed cause, more than half of respondents across all groups believed that homicide frequency was on the rise in that historical context. In short, a majority of the public perceived homicide as rampant in Taiwan and believed this was due to an overly lenient justice system.
#Editor’s Note
This seems to support the idea that in times of social insecurity, people are more inclined to endorse harsher legal measures—at least, this claim was borne out by the survey data from that year. However, when compared with crime rates, terrorist attacks, and lone-wolf attacks in other countries, Taiwan has long ranked among the safer societies internationally. So what, exactly, made people in Taiwan at that time feel that society was “falling into disorder”?
Was it so-called “irresponsible media”? Manipulation of public opinion? Or were there lived experiences that went unrecorded, creating a gap between objective reality and subjective feeling? Regardless, fear of indiscriminate attacks is profoundly real. Perhaps this is not simply a “misperception,” but rather a collective anxiety toward the unknown and the uncontrollable when society is shaken by traumatic events. What deserves reflection is this: beyond calling for harsher punishment, have we overlooked other possibilities for repairing the social safety net?
In the face of tragedy, we need emotional outlets—but we also need rational data to see the full picture. We welcome everyone to share their perspectives and to use data from the eight major empirical survey databases to thoughtfully explore more possible explanations, helping us better understand our society.
Finally, a reminder: if you encounter a similar danger, prioritize distancing yourself from the scene, seek cover, report to authorities immediately, and avoid gathering crowds or sharing unverified information. Also, full disclosure—the editor felt a bit scared after finishing this piece too. Taipei City has provided psychological support services in response to this incident; if you need help, please make use of them.
#TaipeiMainStation #Zhongshan #IndiscriminateAttack #RandomAttack #TaDELS #LegalEmpiricalResearch
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