Taiwanese tourist Chang An-wei (張安薇), who had been held for ransom in the southern Philippines for a month, returned to Taiwan yesterday afternoon after being released by her captors.
She was accompanied by her brother Chang Ta- kung (張大公) and Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) agents when she arrived at the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport from Manila. Television footage showed her dressed in a loose T-shirt and wearing sunglasses, walking to a minibus parked at the airport, waving briefly to the media and giving a thumbs-up sign. She was subsequently transported to the National Taiwan University Hospital for medical checkups.
“I just want to say I deeply appreciate the Philippine military for giving me such a big help and assistance to rescue me. Thank you very much,” Chang An-wei said in English in a video report aired yesterday on several Taiwanese TV news channels.
Photo: AFP
Chang Ta- kung told a 4:30pm press conference hosted by the CIB at the airport that his sister was not abused during her captivity and that the kidnappers were only after money.
Chang Ta- kung thanked the Philippine National Police’s Anti-Kidnapping Group for helping him to communicate with the kidnappers and his sister during her captivity. He also expressed gratitude to the CIB, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Malaysian and Philippine police authorities for their work in the rescue mission.
While CIB Commissioner Lin Teh-hua (林德華) confirmed at the press conference that the kidnappers were a group of Abu Sayyaf rebels — a militant Islamist separatist group based in and around the southern Philippines — both he and Chang Ta- kung declined to reveal details about the rescue operation and the ransom negotiations out of concern for the safety of people involved in the mission.
Standing next to Chang Ta- kung at the press conference was Gene Yu (余靖), whom Chang Ta-kong introduced as a good friend of the Chang family who had played a role in assisting Chang An-wei’s rescue.
It was later revealed that Yu is President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) nephew, a former US Green Beret who graduated from the US Military Academy at West Point and who has extensive experience in the field, including assisting in operations against Abu Sayyaf.
The 58-year-old woman was kidnapped by Philippine gunmen on Nov. 13 while on vacation in a villa on the resort island of Pom Pom off the East Malaysian state of Sabah.
Her 57-year-old male companion, Hsu Li-min (許立民), was shot and killed during the armed attack.
Since then, her family and Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as police authorities, have been seeking assistance through various channels to rescue Chang An-wei.
After her abduction, Chang An-wei was taken to the southern Philippine island province of Sulu, which is adjacent to Malaysia.
Philippine police and marines found her on Friday in a village on the Philippine island of Jolo after they were tipped off by local residents, according to Sulu provincial commander Colonel Jose Cenabre. Philippine marines on Friday afternoon took her back to Manila.
Abu Sayyaf, which is thought to have received funding from al-Qaeda in the past, is notorious for kidnapping.
Early this month, Jordanian journalist Baker Atyani was freed by Abu Sayyaf after more than a year in jungle captivity. He was lured him into one of their camps with a promise of an interview. Militants are still holding more than a dozen captives, including two European bird watchers who were kidnapped last year in Tawi-Tawi Province.
A Chinese freighter that allegedly snapped an undersea cable linking Taiwan proper to Penghu County is suspected of being owned by a Chinese state-run company and had docked at the ports of Kaohsiung and Keelung for three months using different names. On Tuesday last week, the Togo-flagged freighter Hong Tai 58 (宏泰58號) and its Chinese crew were detained after the Taipei-Penghu No. 3 submarine cable was severed. When the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) first attempted to detain the ship on grounds of possible sabotage, its crew said the ship’s name was Hong Tai 168, although the Automatic Identification System (AIS)
An Akizuki-class destroyer last month made the first-ever solo transit of a Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force ship through the Taiwan Strait, Japanese government officials with knowledge of the matter said yesterday. The JS Akizuki carried out a north-to-south transit through the Taiwan Strait on Feb. 5 as it sailed to the South China Sea to participate in a joint exercise with US, Australian and Philippine forces that day. The Japanese destroyer JS Sazanami in September last year made the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force’s first-ever transit through the Taiwan Strait, but it was joined by vessels from New Zealand and Australia,
SECURITY: The purpose for giving Hong Kong and Macau residents more lenient paths to permanent residency no longer applies due to China’s policies, a source said The government is considering removing an optional path to citizenship for residents from Hong Kong and Macau, and lengthening the terms for permanent residence eligibility, a source said yesterday. In a bid to prevent the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from infiltrating Taiwan through immigration from Hong Kong and Macau, the government could amend immigration laws for residents of the territories who currently receive preferential treatment, an official familiar with the matter speaking on condition of anonymity said. The move was part of “national security-related legislative reform,” they added. Under the amendments, arrivals from the Chinese territories would have to reside in Taiwan for
CRITICAL MOVE: TSMC’s plan to invest another US$100 billion in US chipmaking would boost Taiwan’s competitive edge in the global market, the premier said The government would ensure that the most advanced chipmaking technology stays in Taiwan while assisting Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) in investing overseas, the Presidential Office said yesterday. The statement follows a joint announcement by the world’s largest contract chipmaker and US President Donald Trump on Monday that TSMC would invest an additional US$100 billion over the next four years to expand its semiconductor manufacturing operations in the US, which would include construction of three new chip fabrication plants, two advanced packaging facilities, and a research and development center. The government knew about the deal in advance and would assist, Presidential
RSS