The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has raised its travel advisories for Israel and Iran amid rapidly escalating tensions in the Middle East and urged Taiwanese in Iran to leave immediately for their safety.
The travel advisory for Israel was raised to Level 3 (orange), which means Taiwanese are advised to avoid traveling there unless absolutely necessary, it said on Friday.
The ministry last year raised the alert for the Israel-Lebanon border region to Level 4 (red), the highest in its four-tier system, due to frequent cross-border hostilities following rocket exchanges and Israeli airstrikes targeting Hezbollah positions in southern Lebanon.
Photo: Lu Yi-hsuan, Taipei Times
The ministry also raised the alert for Iran to Level 4 on Friday, urging Taiwanese there to leave as soon as possible.
The announcement came hours after Israel launched an airstrike against Iran, targeting the Iranian nuclear program, and key government figures and nuclear scientists.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has justified the attacks, saying that it was about Israel’s “survival” and accusing Iran of accelerating its nuclear program in recent months.
The tit-for-tat attacks between Israel and Iran have effectively plunged the ongoing negotiations between the US and Iran for a possible nuclear peace deal into uncertainty.
Ministry data showed that there are about 283 Taiwanese in Israel, including its overseas personnel and their families, residents and travelers, while there are seven Taiwanese in Iran.
All of them are safe, the ministry said, adding that its overseas missions in Israel and Dubai, the latter of which also manages affairs in Iran, remain in close contact with Taiwanese there and are ready to provide assistance if needed.
The ministry on Friday also said that its working holiday scheme for Israel, which had started accepting applications for the first time on June 1, has been suspended until further notice.
Taiwan and Israel signed a working holiday agreement in 2023, allowing up to 200 nationals aged 18 to 30 to work in the other country for up to one year.
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck off the coast of Hualien County in eastern Taiwan at 7pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter of the temblor was at sea, about 69.9km south of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 30.9km, it said. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake’s intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County’s Changbin Township (長濱), where it measured 5 on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 4 in Hualien, Nantou, Chiayi, Yunlin, Changhua and Miaoli counties, as well as
Credit departments of farmers’ and fishers’ associations blocked a total of more than NT$180 million (US$6.01 million) from being lost to scams last year, National Police Agency (NPA) data showed. The Agricultural Finance Agency (AFA) said last week that staff of farmers’ and fishers’ associations’ credit departments are required to implement fraud prevention measures when they serve clients at the counter. They would ask clients about personal financial management activities whenever they suspect there might be a fraud situation, and would immediately report the incident to local authorities, which would send police officers to the site to help, it said. NPA data showed
ENERGY RESILIENCE: Although Alaska is open for investments, Taiwan is sourcing its gas from the Middle East, and the sea routes carry risks, Ho Cheng-hui said US government officials’ high-profile reception of a Taiwanese representative at the Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference indicated the emergence of an Indo-Pacific energy resilience alliance, an academic said. Presidential Office Secretary-General Pan Men-an (潘孟安) attended the conference in Alaska on Thursday last week at the invitation of the US government. Pan visited oil and gas facilities with senior US officials, including US Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy and US Senator Daniel Sullivan. Pan attending the conference on behalf of President William Lai (賴清德) shows a significant elevation in diplomatic representation,
The Taipei MRT is to begin accepting mobile payment services in the fall, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp said on Saturday. When the company finishes the installation of new payment units at ticketing gates in October, MRT passengers can use credit cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay, the operator said. In addition, the MRT would also provide QR payment codes — which would be compatible with Line Pay, Jkopay, iPass Money, PXPay Plus, EasyWallet, iCash Pay, Taiwan Pay and Taishin Pay — to access the railway system. Currently, passengers can access the Taipei MRT by buying a single-journey token or using EasyCard,
RSS