More than 1,200 Taiwanese tourists in Thailand were reported safe, the Tourism Bureau said yesterday, one day after a travel alert for the flood-stricken country was raised to the highest “red” level.
Of the 61 tour groups currently traveling in Thailand, nine groups of 180 people were scheduled to return to Taiwan yesterday, while the remaining 52 groups of 1,040 people would continue with their itinerary, the bureau said.
“Fortunately, most Taiwanese visitors were not in flood-affected areas,” bureau division deputy director Chen Chiung-hua (陳瓊華) said. “We strongly warn against non-essential trips to Thailand at this time.”
On Thursday, the Thai government opened 13 flood gates and channeled the water through Bangkok to divert it out to sea.
The release of the water was expected to submerge part of the capital, cause power shortages and cut the water supply, resulting in problems with accommodation, transportation, the food supply and public hygiene, a statement released by Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Friday.
As a result, Lion Travel Service Co, a major local travel agency, said all its Thailand-bound tours would be suspended before Tuesday. However, as its 33 tour groups of more than 400 Taiwanese tourists currently in Thailand would not necessarily visit Bangkok or stay there only briefly, the agency said no changes would be made to the itineraries of those groups.
Thailand is suffering from its worst monsoon floods in decades, resulting in more than 340 deaths and economic losses of at least US$6 billion since July.
Yangmingshan National Park authorities yesterday urged visitors to respect public spaces and obey the law after a couple was caught on a camera livestream having sex at the park’s Qingtiangang (擎天崗) earlier in the day. The Shilin Police Precinct in Taipei said it has identified a suspect and his vehicle registration number, and would summon him for questioning. The case would be handled in accordance with public indecency charges, it added. The couple entered the park at about 11pm on Thursday and began fooling around by 1am yesterday, the police said, adding that the two were unaware of the park’s all-day live
A former soldier and an active-duty army officer were yesterday indicted for allegedly selling classified military training materials to a Chinese intelligence operative for a total of NT$79,440. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office indicted Chen Tai-yin (陳泰尹) and Lee Chun-ta (李俊達) for contravening the National Security Act (國家安全法) and the Anti-Corruption Act (貪污治罪條例). Chen left the military in September 2013 after serving alongside then-staff sergeant Lee, now an army lieutenant, at the 21st Artillery Command of the army’s Sixth Corps from 2011 to 2013, according to the indictment. Chen met a Chinese intelligence operative identified as “Wang” (王) through a friend in November
Yangmingshan National Park’s Qingtiangang (擎天崗) nature area has gone viral after a park livestream camera observed a couple in the throes of intimate congress, which was broadcast live on YouTube, drawing large late-night crowds and sparking a backlash over noise, bright lights and disruption to wildlife habitat. The area’s livestream footage appeared to show a couple engaging in sexual activity on a picnic table in the park on Friday last week, with the uncensored footage streamed publicly online. The footage quickly spread across social media, prompting a tide of visitors to travel to the site to “check in” and recreate the
Minister of Digital Affairs Lin Yi-ching (林宜敬) yesterday cited regulatory issues and national security concerns as an expert said that Taiwan is among the few Asian regions without Starlink. Lin made the remarks on Facebook after funP Innovation Group chief executive officer Nathan Chiu (邱繼弘) on Friday said Taiwan and four other countries in Asia — China, North Korea, Afghanistan and Syria — have no access to Starlink. Starlink has become available in 166 countries worldwide, including Ukraine, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam, in the six years since it became commercial, he said. While China and North Korea block Starlink, Syria is not
RSS