Some Taiwanese businesspeople living in China's Sichuan Province had yet to be reached yesterday following a 7.9 magnitude quake which hit the province.
A total of 82 Taiwanese tourists were still missing at press time last night.
The Travel Agent Association (TAA) told a press conference last night that it was still trying to contact 82 Taiwanese tourists whom it had not been able to reach by telephone since the earthquake struck.
These tourists were on a package tour to Jiuzhaigou (九寨溝, one of the famous tourist attractions in Sichuan.
Earlier, it had said that 14 tourists were traveling around Maoshien, a city near the epicenter in Wenchuan, while another 94 tourists were near Chiangyo and Pingwu, two cities east of Wenchuan.
The number did not include those who traveled on their own.
The TAA said at least 2,360 Taiwanese tourists had been traveling in Sichuan when the earthquake occurred.
Many of the tourists could not be contacted because of the breakdown of communication and transportation networks in the province.
TAA chairman Yao Ta-kuang (姚大光 said the association has dispatched three representatives to Sichuan and would form an emergency taskforce to help arrange return trips for the tour groups.
Yao also said air traffic in Jiuzhaigou was blocked and that the association could dispatch humanitarian charter flights to the airport in Jiuzhaigou once it is able to help bring the tourists back.
There were 2,897 Taiwanese tourists still in Sichuan, according to a press release issued by the TAA yesterday morning.
Meanwhile, the Mainland Council Affairs (MAC) said at a separate press conference yesterday afternoon that the only Taiwanese casualty so far was Chu Shao-wei (朱紹維, a four-year-old boy who died when a house in Mianzhu City was flattened.
MAC Chairman Chen Ming-tong (陳明通 said both of the boy's parents were in Taiwan and that the government was helping the father return to Mianzhu as soon as possible.
Another four year-old Taiwanese girl, Yu Chia-rong (余佳蓉, is missing. Her father, Yu Da-jun (余大軍, has sought the help of the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) to establish contact with her and her parents-in-law.
So far, the MAC and SEF do not have a figure on Taiwanese students in China.
Meanwhile, citing preliminary information acquired by the semi-official Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) from Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan, Yeh Ming-shui (葉明水, deputy secretary-general of TAITRA, yesterday said some Taiwan businesspeople, particularly those near Wenchuan, the epicenter of the tremor located some 100km from Chengdu, remained unreachable.
TAITRA is the only agency affiliated with the government which has personnel stationed in Chengdu.
Yeh said there are more than 600 Taiwanese companies in Sichuan, including offices and stores of prominent conglomerates, such as the Sogo Pacific Department Store and Giant bicycles.
A representative of the Taiwanese businessmen's association in Chengdu said yesterday that most members of the association had been accounted for and were safe and sound.
Speaking by telephone with the Central News Agency, a representative of the association surnamed Lee said that it began contacting members at midnight last night after the telephone service resumed.
Lee said most members of the association had been contacted by 11am yesterday, with none of them reporting any injuries. Lee said that the association's 6th floor office in Chengdu suffered only minor damage in the earthquake and said that many members of the association had begun to make preparations to assist in relief efforts.
Citing the uncertain circumstances following the 7.8 magnitude earthquake, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) advised Taiwanese residents yesterday against visiting the quake-affected areas.
"We are not issuing a travel warning for Sichuan Province, but we urge travel agencies and travelers to understand the actual situation before making any plans to go there," said Yu Fang-lai (游方來, deputy minister of the MOTC. "The public should have the sense and judgment to make their own decision."
Authorities have detained three former Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TMSC, 台積電) employees on suspicion of compromising classified technology used in making 2-nanometer chips, the Taiwan High Prosecutors’ Office said yesterday. Prosecutors are holding a former TSMC engineer surnamed Chen (陳) and two recently sacked TSMC engineers, including one person surnamed Wu (吳) in detention with restricted communication, following an investigation launched on July 25, a statement said. The announcement came a day after Nikkei Asia reported on the technology theft in an exclusive story, saying TSMC had fired two workers for contravening data rules on advanced chipmaking technology. Two-nanometer wafers are the most
DEFENSE: The first set of three NASAMS that were previously purchased is expected to be delivered by the end of this year and deployed near the capital, sources said Taiwan plans to procure 28 more sets of M-142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), as well as nine additional sets of National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS), military sources said yesterday. Taiwan had previously purchased 29 HIMARS launchers from the US and received the first 11 last year. Once the planned purchases are completed and delivered, Taiwan would have 57 sets of HIMARS. The army has also increased the number of MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) purchased from 64 to 84, the sources added. Each HIMARS launch pod can carry six Guided Multiple Launch Rocket Systems, capable of
CHINA’s BULLYING: The former British prime minister said that he believes ‘Taiwan can and will’ protect its freedom and democracy, as its people are lovers of liberty Former British prime minister Boris Johnson yesterday said Western nations should have the courage to stand with and deepen their economic partnerships with Taiwan in the face of China’s intensified pressure. He made the remarks at the ninth Ketagalan Forum: 2025 Indo-Pacific Security Dialogue hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Prospect Foundation in Taipei. Johnson, who is visiting Taiwan for the first time, said he had seen Taiwan’s coastline on a screen on his indoor bicycle, but wanted to learn more about the nation, including its artificial intelligence (AI) development, the key technology of the 21st century. Calling himself an
South Korea yesterday said that it was removing loudspeakers used to blare K-pop and news reports to North Korea, as the new administration in Seoul tries to ease tensions with its bellicose neighbor. The nations, still technically at war, had already halted propaganda broadcasts along the demilitarized zone, Seoul’s military said in June after the election of South Korean President Lee Jae-myung. It said in June that Pyongyang stopped transmitting bizarre, unsettling noises along the border that had become a major nuisance for South Korean residents, a day after South Korea’s loudspeakers fell silent. “Starting today, the military has begun removing the loudspeakers,”
RSS