Opposition legislators yesterday criticized the government for its ineffective reaction to intelligence it received Friday night about possible terrorist attacks somewhere in Southeast Asia because the Cabinet took no action to stop people from traveling to Bali.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not list Bali a danger area for travelers until yesterday.
"I'm deeply impressed that Premier Yu Shyi-kun was informed last Friday, but I also mark him a demerit for failing to warn Bali-bound travelers and putting their lives in jeopardy," said Shen Chih-hwei (沈智慧), convener of the PFP legislative caucus.
Although many countries told their citizens to leave Indonesia soon after Saturday night's bombings, Taiwan's government was very slow to make such a move, Shen said.
Lee Chuan-chiao (李全教), KMT legislative caucus whip, said the government's handling the incident reflects its lack of ability in crisis management.
Lee proposed that the government emulate the US and Japan and set up a crisis-management mechanism immediately, so that Taiwanese expatriates and travelers could get the best protection.
The DPP defended the government yesterday, saying the intelligence it received was intended as an alert for the government, but not the public.
DPP caucus convener Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) said such intelligence would cause panic and lead to serious diplomatic problems if the government arbitrarily made public any information it received.
Ker said that during a meeting of top government policymakers hosted by President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) last month, national security authorities delivered a report on alerts received from the US that warned that Southeast Asian countries were possible targets of terrorist attacks.
Ker said the national security system has been working on efforts against terrorism since last year's Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the US, though the public may not feel them.
DPP Legislator Trong Chai (蔡同榮) suggested that the government establish a panel to coordinate between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Tourism Bureau and intelligence agencies to evaluate risks involving outbound travel.
Trong proposed that such information then be made available on an official Web site, so that people could check the information any time.
He said the government is obliged to inform people of any emergencies in foreign countries.
RSS