Taiwan has drawn up a plan to resolve a hostage situation in the southern Philippines, where armed assailants are keeping a Taiwanese national taken hostage last week during a vacation in Malaysia.
“There is an integrated effort and everything has been properly planned for,” Minister of National Defense Yen Ming (嚴明) said yesterday.
He declined to give further information insisting on “keeping a low profile” for the safety of Chang An-wei (張安薇), a 58-year-old businesswoman based in Shanghai.
Yen dismissed speculation that a naval vessel might be dispatched on a rescue operation. He said the military is planning to send a vessel to the Philippines, but it is to transport relief supplies to people affected by Typhoon Haiyan.
Taiwan has been working with Malaysian and Philippine authorities to secure Chang’s safe return since she disappeared from the Malaysian resort island of Pom Pom, off the east coast of Sabah, following a Nov. 15 attack that left her male companion, Hsu Li-min (許立民), dead.
According to Malaysia’s English-language daily the Star, Malaysian police have obtained a recording of a conversation with the gunmen responsible for the abduction of Chang.
“We are quite sure that she is safe,” the tabloid quoted Malaysian Inspector-General of Police Kalid Abu Bakar as saying on Thursday. “Our officers are in Manila to discuss matters with the Philippine authorities. We have also involved the Taiwan representative in the Philippines.”
On Wednesday, Minister of the Interior Lee Hong-yuan (李鴻源) said that Chang was taken to the Philippines unharmed by the attackers.
Lee also revealed that a telephone call believed to be from her captors mentioned a payment of ransom. It was not clear if that was related to the recording that the Star reported on.
Lee’s revelation has led to a swirl of media speculation in Taiwan and Malaysia, including guesses at the amount of money demanded.
Criminal Investigation Bureau officials yesterday called for an end to the speculation, which they fear may endanger the safety of the hostage and hamper the investigation.
Bakar has also urged the media not to reveal details of the victim’s family to protect her safety. According to a separate report in the Star, Sabah Police commissioner Hamza Taib said that Malaysian police were not aware of the matter because they had not maintained communication with the gunmen.
Hamza said he had met with the woman’s brother, Chang Ta-kung (張大公), and assured him that Malaysian law enforcement is doing all it can to help locate her.
The gunmen are widely believed to have come from the Philippines and to have taken Chang back there as a hostage.
The Star reported that they likely took her to the Philippine island of Tawi Tawi and then to Jolo Island, often called the country’s kidnapping capital.
TRAGEDY: An expert said that the incident was uncommon as the chance of a ground crew member being sucked into an IDF engine was ‘minuscule’ A master sergeant yesterday morning died after she was sucked into an engine during a routine inspection of a fighter jet at an air base in Taichung, the Air Force Command Headquarters said. The officer, surnamed Hu (胡), was conducting final landing checks at Ching Chuan Kang (清泉崗) Air Base when she was pulled into the jet’s engine for unknown reasons, the air force said in a news release. She was transported to a hospital for emergency treatment, but could not be revived, it said. The air force expressed its deepest sympathies over the incident, and vowed to work with authorities as they
A tourist who was struck and injured by a train in a scenic area of New Taipei City’s Pingsi District (平溪) on Monday might be fined for trespassing on the tracks, the Railway Police Bureau said yesterday. The New Taipei City Fire Department said it received a call at 4:37pm on Monday about an incident in Shifen (十分), a tourist destination on the Pingsi Railway Line. After arriving on the scene, paramedics treated a woman in her 30s for a 3cm to 5cm laceration on her head, the department said. She was taken to a hospital in Keelung, it said. Surveillance footage from a
BITTERLY COLD: The inauguration ceremony for US president-elect Donald Trump has been moved indoors due to cold weather, with the new venue lacking capacity A delegation of cross-party lawmakers from Taiwan, led by Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), for the inauguration of US president-elect Donald Trump, would not be able to attend the ceremony, as it is being moved indoors due to forecasts of intense cold weather in Washington tomorrow. The inauguration ceremony for Trump and US vice president-elect JD Vance is to be held inside the Capitol Rotunda, which has a capacity of about 2,000 people. A person familiar with the issue yesterday said although the outdoor inauguration ceremony has been relocated, Taiwan’s legislative delegation has decided to head off to Washington as scheduled. The delegation
Another wave of cold air would affect Taiwan starting from Friday and could evolve into a continental cold mass, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Temperatures could drop below 10°C across Taiwan on Monday and Tuesday next week, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said. Seasonal northeasterly winds could bring rain, he said. Meanwhile, due to the continental cold mass and radiative cooling, it would be cold in northern and northeastern Taiwan today and tomorrow, according to the CWA. From last night to this morning, temperatures could drop below 10°C in northern Taiwan, it said. A thin coat of snow
RSS