The government yesterday evacuated more than 200 Taiwanese from the Middle East amid ongoing US-Israel strikes on Iran, multiple sources confirmed.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Transportation and Communications arranged for their return from Qatar via Emirates Airway, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) told a post Cabinet-meeting news conference in Taipei.
The 20 Taiwanese travelers in a tour group reportedly stranded in Qatar were on this flight, after the foreign ministry established contact with them at midnight yesterday, he said.
Photo courtesy of the Commercial Office of Taipei, Dubai
Emirates Flight EK366 landed at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport at 4:11pm, the airport’s Web site showed.
The government has set up a task force to bring Taiwanese home as flights become available, with safety being the priority, Wu said.
A total of 3,000 Taiwanese study, work or live in the Middle East and another 200 travelers were stranded due to the cancelation of connecting flights since the conflict’s outbreak, he said.
Taiwanese in countries that partially opened their airspace may book commercial flights to return home or request assistance from the nation’s representative office in Dubai, officials said.
Taiwan’s representative offices in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Dubai and Jordan are tasked with helping those stranded in countries whose airspace remain closed except Israel, they said.
Those in Israel should directly contact Taiwan’s representative office in that nation, officials said.
Meanwhile, Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs Lai Chien-hsin (賴建信) told the news conference that CPC Corp, Taiwan has secured natural gas to supply the nation through next month from sources outside the Middle East.
Taiwan would additionally use mutual aid collaborations with other Asia-based natural gas buyers and spot market purchases to secure energy supplies, he said.
A task force has been activated to monitor the shipments and prices of oil and gas, he said, adding that oil prices are holding steady as governments around the world have the situation under control for now.
Reports from the US that an inventory showed a larger amount of crude in its strategic reserves than originally expected is a contributing factor in the stability of oil prices, Lai said.
Eighty percent of the nation’s energy needs rely on liquefied natural gas and the government has made plans accordingly, officials said.
Taiwan has at least 90 days of oil supplies, 30 days of coal supplies and 11 days of natural gas supplies as required by law, which are being boosted further in response to the contingency in the Middle East, they said.
The nation’s actual oil and natural gas supplies are higher than the legally mandated minimum, they said.
The government could make adjustments to gas and oil prices if such changes become necessary to maintain energy security, officials said.
Citing Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰), Financial Supervisory Commission officials said that the stock market’s fall since the conflict’s outbreak remained within acceptable margins.
The TAIEX fell 7.3 percent between Monday and Wednesday, compared with 7.82 percent for Japan, 18.43 percent for South Korea, 5.19 percent for Hong Kong and 1.93 percent for Shanghai, officials said.
The impact of the US and Israeli strikes on Iran on the Taiwanese stock market is expected to be temporary, as fundamentals remain robust, they said.
Investors are urged to trade rationally and react to short-term fluctuations with calm, officials said, adding that measures to stabilize the stock market would be enacted if necessary.
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