To help Taiwanese nationals who run into trouble while traveling abroad, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday began offering bilingual cards at airports in Taoyuan and Kaohsiung with information to help stranded travelers deal with emergency situations.
“From today on, the cards will be available at the check-in counters of China Airlines and Eva Air” at the two airports, Bureau of Consular Affairs (BOCA) Deputy Director-General Chen Hua-yu (陳華玉) said.
If people are questioned at immigration and do not know how to answer, they can show the immigration officers the card, which will let them know that they “are from Taiwan, do not understand their language and need the help of a translator,” Chen said.
PHOTO: CNA
The phrases on the cards, in both Chinese and English, request help or information. Some include “I am from Taiwan (ROC), and cannot speak English, I wonder if I could have a Chinese (Mandarin) interpreter,” and “If no one is available, please contact the Taiwan Mission in your country, I need their assistance.”
The cards also have the emergency contact numbers of the ministry’s overseas offices and the ministry’s emergency center’s number, 886-800-085-095, Chen said.
At present, the Chinese-English cards are available for travel in four areas: Asia, North America, Europe and Trans-Atlantic regions. MOFA said it was planning to add other language versions for Central and South America and Africa.
Chen said that BOCA was also considering launching a program in conjunction with Chunghwa Telecom (中華電信) to send text messages to customers should any emergency situation occur while they are traveling overseas.
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