The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday announced a series of new measures to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of its emergency assistance to overseas Taiwanese, as more than 90 percent of callers who contacted the nation’s emergency hotlines last year were not actually in serious trouble.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs Secretary-General James Lee (李光章) at a news conference in Taipei said that to prevent the nation’s emergency hotlines from being abused for trivial matters, the ministry has revised its guidelines governing emergency assistance to Taiwanese traveling overseas to give the public a clearer idea of what kinds of situations constitute an emergency.
The guidelines previously stipulated that overseas offices were required to help victims of criminal activities report their case to a local police bureau. However, under the revised version, assistance would only be provided to those who have encountered serious crimes that threaten their personal safety, such as murder, kidnapping and sexual assault, Lee said.
Photo: Lu Yi-hsuan, Taipei Times
“In the past, Taiwanese tourists traveling overseas might have called the emergency hotline in the middle of the night simply because they had lost a US$100 bill. The public should realize that inconvenience does not equal emergency,” he said.
Citing as an example the emergency call center set up by the ministry’s branch office at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Lee said the center received more than 65,000 calls asking for help, but only 700 of them could be categorized as an emergency.
The new guidelines also include two new scenarios that are entitled to emergency assistance — where a Taiwanese who is arrested and detained by a foreign government requests a visit by local consular staff, and in the event of a natural disaster, war or civil war, consular staff are required to provide necessary emergency response information and assistance, Lee said.
The revision is part of 12 new measures rolled out by the ministry yesterday, weeks after Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) pledged to reform the nation’s emergency response mechanism after the branch office in Osaka, Japan, came under fire for its dismissal of a Taiwanese tourist’s request for help finding accommodation while stranded in the area due to Typhoon Jebi.
The incident reportedly led to office director-general Su Chii-cherng (蘇啟誠) committing suicide on Sept. 14.
To ensure better handing of controversial situations, the ministry is to set up an ad hoc evaluation committee consisting of respected individuals from different sectors of society to fairly and justly evaluate a major complaint, Lee said.
Lee said another major change is that the call center at Taoyuan airport has been turned into a main dispatch center, which would help those in need contact the responsible local consular office and assign each request with a case number for follow-ups.
“From now on, Taiwanese needing emergency assistance abroad are encouraged to contact the call center on 0800-085-095,” Lee said, adding that each overseas office’s emergency hotline service would also remain available.
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