Washington authorized family members and non-emergency personnel from the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) on Friday to leave Taiwan on a voluntary basis in light of the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS).
Other embassies and representative offices in Taipei have adopted mixed policies in response to the spread of the disease.
"The move to authorize voluntary departures is a prudent measure that provides AIT and family members with the opportunity to relocate temporarily outside of Taiwan until the situation improves," the AIT said in a press release.
Due to uncertainties over the outbreak and concerns about the AIT's ability to evacuate its employees and their families, the US Department of State decided to take steps to protect these people, the statement said.
The State Department on Friday authorized the departure of family members and non-emergency personnel from the AIT offices in Taipei and Kaohsiung on a voluntary basis "due to health concerns," the release said.
The AIT's Taipei office issued a thermometer to each of its staffers earlier this week to help them monitor their body temperature on a regular basis, a source at the AIT said.
Other embassies and trade representative offices in Taipei have adopted mixed policies in response to the SARS outbreak.
According to Maggie Yeh (
"But no one has applied to do so at this time," Yeh said in a telephone interview. "We are not evacuating our staff."
The Canadian Trade Office in Taipei has been discussing the voluntary departure of the dependents of its personnel, a source said.
Ruth Kahanoff, representative of the Israel Economic and Cultural Office in Taipei, said her office has not yet developed such a contingency plan.
"But we will see how things develop. If suitable, we'll arrange for our family members to leave Taiwan to have their summer vacations earlier," Kahanoff said.
"Obviously we are concerned like the rest of the people in Taiwan. But we are confident that things will get under control as soon as possible," the top Israeli representative added.
With regards to the Singapore Trade Office in Taipei, an insider said, "We are monitoring the situation closely. There's no plan to send people back on a voluntary basis."
Meanwhile, the AIT said in its press release that it has worked closely with US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) officers and Taiwan's health authorities to better understand the risk to US citizens in Taiwan.
The CDC has around seven specialists in Taiwan working with local authorities to help contain the spread of the deadly flu-like disease, the AIT said.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft