A Taiwanese man who was wrongly detained while transiting through Abu Dhabi International Airport on Nov. 24 last year returned to Taiwan on Saturday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today.
The Yunlin County resident surnamed Chen (陳) was traveling with his wife, surnamed Yang (楊), who reported the incident to Taiwan's representative office in Dubai the following day.
Photo courtesy of Chen’s wife
Chen was mistakenly flagged as a wanted fugitive by a local artificial intelligence system, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Chang Chia-chun (張嘉郡) said.
After authorities confirmed that Chen was not involved in any criminal activity, he was released on Nov. 28.
However, his travel restrictions could not be lifted immediately, as he was required to complete police reporting procedures that were delayed by a national holiday in the United Arab Emirates, the ministry said.
Chen's travel restriction was formally lifted on Jan. 8, ministry spokesperson Hsiao Kuang-wei (蕭光偉) said.
Hsiao said the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Dubai provided extensive assistance in accordance with local regulations, including accompanying Chen during case clarifications with prosecutors and police, arranging multiple lawyers to help apply for the lifting of travel restrictions, and assisting with medical visits, accommodation, transportation, medication and daily necessities.
Chen and his wife visited the Legislative Yuan today to thank Chang and Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) for their assistance.
Chen also expressed gratitude to Taiwan's representative office in Dubai for its support.
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