The government has condemned the Palestinian militant group Hamas’ attack on Israeli civilians on Saturday that killed hundreds of people, as it raised its travel warning for the Middle Eastern country.
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) also conveyed her condolences to those injured and killed, as well as the concern of Taiwanese for Israelis’ safety, Presidential Office spokeswoman Olivia Lin (林聿禪) said
As a democratic nation, Taiwan vehemently opposes all forms of terroristic threats and condemns attacks on civilians, Lin said.
Photo: AFP
Taiwan is committed to collaborating with like-minded nations to resist any manifestations of threats that jeopardize democracy and freedom, she added.
In a news release late on Saturday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs “condemned the terrorist attacks against innocent Israeli civilians carried out by Hamas.”
Upon learning of the attacks, Department of West Asian and African Affairs Director-General Anthony Ho (賀忠義) immediately extended the nation’s condolences to Israeli Representative to Taiwan Maya Yaron, it said.
Lin yesterday said that Tsai has instructed the ministry and Taiwan’s representative office in Israel to gather information on the status of Taiwanese citizens in the area to ensure their safety.
Five tour groups in Israel, comprising 124 people from Taiwan, are safe, the Tourism Administration said.
One of the groups, with Lion Travel Service Co (雄獅旅行社), was to return to Taiwan yesterday, while a group with Yung Shin Travel Service Co (永信旅行社) is to cancel parts of its itinerary and return to Taiwan as soon as possible, the administration said in a statement, adding that the other three groups are in northern Israel and have not been affected.
It said that it is closely monitoring the situation and would offer assistance as needed.
Travel Quality Assurance Association (旅行業品保協會) spokesman Lee Chi-yuen (李奇嶽) said that local travel agencies are likely to suspend tour groups to Israel temporarily or alter their itineraries.
The Taipei-based association said that fewer than 10,000 Taiwanese travel to Israel in tour groups annually, making the country a relatively small tourist market due to the lack of direct flights and high travel costs.
The foreign ministry raised its travel alert for Israel to “yellow” following Saturday’s attack, advising people to reconsider any travel plans to Israel and pay special attention to their safety if travel is unavoidable.
Under the ministry’s four-color travel alert system, the lowest warning level is gray, followed by yellow, orange and red. The red alert advises people to refrain from traveling to the country or region in question.
In case of emergency when visiting Israel, Taiwanese are advised to call the nation’s representative office at 972-544-275-204 or the ministry’s Taipei headquarters’ toll free hotline at 886-800-085-095 to seek assistance, it added.
CREDIT-GRABBER: China said its coast guard rescued the crew of a fishing vessel that caught fire, who were actually rescued by a nearby Taiwanese boat and the CGA Maritime search and rescue operations do not have borders, and China should not use a shipwreck to infringe upon Taiwanese sovereignty, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said yesterday. The coast guard made the statement in response to the China Coast Guard (CCG) saying it saved a Taiwanese fishing boat. The Chuan Yu No. 6 (全漁6號), a fishing vessel registered in Keelung, on Thursday caught fire and sank in waters northeast of Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台). The vessel left Keelung’s Badouzih Fishing Harbor (八斗子漁港) at 3:35pm on Sunday last week, with seven people on board — a 62-year-old Taiwanese captain surnamed Chang (張) and six
LEVERAGE: China did not ‘need to fire a shot’ to deny Taiwan airspace over Africa when it owns ‘half the continent’s debt,’ a US official said, calling it economic warfare The EU has raised concerns about overflight rights following the delay of President William Lai’s (賴清德) planned state visit to the Kingdom of Eswatini after three African nations denied overflight clearance for his charter at the last minute. Taiwanese allies Paraguay and Saint Kitts and Nevis, as well as several US lawmakers and the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) condemned China for allegedly pressuring the countries. Lai was scheduled to fly directly to Taiwan’s only African ally from yesterday to Sunday to celebrate the 40th anniversary of King Mswati III’s accession and his 58th birthday, but Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar suddenly revoked
RISKY BUSINESS: The ‘incentives’ include initiatives that get suspended for no reason, creating uncertainty and resulting in considerable losses for Taiwanese, the MAC said China’s “incentives” failed to sway sentiment in Taiwan, as willingness to work in China hit a record low of 1.6 percent, a Ministry of Labor survey showed. The Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) also reported that the number of Taiwanese workers in China has nearly halved from a peak of 430,000 in 2012 to an estimated 231,000 in 2024. That marked a new low in the proportion of Taiwanese going abroad to work. The ministry’s annual survey on “Labor Life and Employment Status” includes questions respondents’ willingness to seek employment overseas. Willingness to work in China has steadily declined from
The number of pet cats in Taiwan surpassed that of pet dogs for the first time last year, reaching 1,742,033, a 32.8 percent increase from 2023, the Ministry of Agriculture said yesterday, citing a survey. By contrast, the number of pet dogs declined slightly by 1.2 percent over the same period to 1,462,528, the ministry said. Despite the shift, households with dogs still slightly outnumber those with cats by 1.2 percent. However, while the number of households with multiple dogs has remained relatively stable, households keeping more than two cats have increased, contributing to the overall rise in the feline population. The trend
RSS