The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday raised its travel alert for Egypt from “orange” to “red,” the highest level in its warning system, the Tourism Bureau said.
The move came one day after the ministry issued an orange alert on travel to Egypt, advising travelers to avoid unnecessary trips to the country. The new advisory calls for travelers to cancel their trips.
The Tourism Bureau said the ministry raised the travel alert after demonstrations against the Egyptian government continued to escalate, adding that protesters were reported to have attacked the headquarters of the National Democratic Party as well as banks and supermarkets.
Amid rising tensions, the Egyptian government also implemented a curfew from 4pm Saturday until 8am yesterday. All communication services, including the Internet and mobile phones, were disconnected during the curfew, the bureau said.
AGREEMENT
The bureau said it had reached an agreement with the Travel Agent Association (TAA) and the Travel Quality Assurance Association so that travelers forced to cancel their trips because of the travel warning would be refunded based on Clause 28 of the Standardized Contract for Overseas Tour (國外旅遊定型化契約書範本), which stipulates that a contract between travel agents and travelers may be rescinded because of force majeure — a reason for which neither party can be held responsible.
The same clause states that travel agents may first deduct any expenditure that was made on behalf of the travelers or that was necessarily incurred in executing the contract.
To minimize losses, travelers could choose to either postpone their trips or switch to tours to other countries, the bureau said.
The TAA estimates that about 800 Taiwanese on high-end tour packages were scheduled to leave for the north African country during the Lunar New Year holiday, each paying between NT$70,000 and NT$110,000.
TAIWANESE IN EGYPT
The ministry said 22 Taiwanese businessmen were in Cairo and 410 Taiwanese tourists were currently in Egypt.
Ministry spokesman James Chang (章計平) said all were accounted for and safe.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY FLORA WANG
DETERRENCE: With 1,000 indigenous Hsiung Feng II and III missiles and 400 Harpoon missiles, the nation would boast the highest anti-ship missile density in the world With Taiwan wrapping up mass production of Hsiung Feng II and III missiles by December and an influx of Harpoon missiles from the US, Taiwan would have the highest density of anti-ship missiles in the world, a source said yesterday. Taiwan is to wrap up mass production of the indigenous anti-ship missiles by the end of year, as the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology has been meeting production targets ahead of schedule, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said. Combined with the 400 Harpoon anti-ship missiles Taiwan expects to receive from the US by 2028, the nation would have
POSSIBILITIES EMERGE: With Taiwan’s victory and Japan’s narrow win over Australia, Taiwan now have a chance to advance if South Korea also beat the Aussies Taiwan has high hopes that the national baseball team would advance to the World Baseball Classic (WBC) quarter-finals after clinching a crucial 5-4 victory over South Korea in a nail-biting extra-inning game at the Tokyo Dome yesterday. Boosted by three home runs — two solo shots by Yu Chang (張育成) and Cheng Tsung-che (鄭宗哲) and a two-run homer by Stuart Fairchild — the triumph gave Taiwan a much-needed second victory in the five-team Pool C, where only the top two finishers would advance to the knockout stage in Miami, Florida. Entering extra innings with the game tied at four apiece, Taiwan scored
MISSION OF PEACE: The foreign minister urged Beijing to respect Taiwan’s existence as an independent nation, and work together to ensure peace and stability in the region Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) yesterday rejected Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi’s (王毅) comments about Taiwan, criticizing China as a “troublemaker” in the international community and a disruptor of cross-strait peace. Speaking at a news conference on the sidelines of the Chinese National People’s Congress, Wang said that Taiwan has always been a territory of China and that it would be impossible for it to become its own country. The “return” of Taiwan to China was the natural outcome of the Chinese people’s resistance against Japan in World War II, and that any pursuit of independence was “doomed
‘UNWAVERING FRIENDSHIP’: A representative of a Japanese group that co-organized a memorial, said he hopes Japanese never forget Taiwan’s kindness President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday marked the 15th anniversary of the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, urging continued cooperation between Taiwan and Japan on disaster prevention and humanitarian assistance. Lai wrote on social media that Taiwan and Japan have always helped each other in the aftermath of major disasters. The magnitude 9 earthquake struck northeastern Japan on March 11, 2011, triggering a massive tsunami that claimed more than 19,000 lives, according to data from Japanese authorities. Following the disaster, Taiwan donated more than US$240 million in aid, making it one of the largest contributors of financial assistance to Japan. In addition to cash donations and
RSS