The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday called for a restoration of peace in the Middle East amid an escalation of fighting between Israeli forces and Palestinian militants.
“We urge the relevant parties to work to reduce conflicts and restore peace so that civilian casualties can be avoided,” ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) told a regular news briefing in Taipei.
The Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Tel Aviv has confirmed that all Taiwanese in the country are safe, she said.
The ministry has instructed the representative office to continue to monitor the situation, Ou said, adding that Taiwan would, if necessary, activate emergency plans for the safety of its nationals in the region.
Taiwan does not have a representative office in the Palestinian Territories, with its offices in Israel and Jordan handling consular affairs for those in the territories.
Fighting between the Israeli military and Palestinian militants erupted on Monday following a raid by Israeli police in Jerusalem on Friday last week that left at least 178 Palestinian protesters and six police officers wounded, foreign media reported.
Militants in Gaza responded by firing rockets at Israel, prompting the military to launch retaliatory airstrikes, the reports said.
At least 83 Palestinians have been reported killed in Gaza and seven people have died in Israel since the violence erupted on Monday.
See ISRAEL on page 6
The National Immigration Agency (NIA) said yesterday that it will revoke the dependent-based residence permit of a Chinese social media influencer who reportedly “openly advocated for [China’s] unification through military force” with Taiwan. The Chinese national, identified by her surname Liu (劉), will have her residence permit revoked in accordance with Article 14 of the “Measures for the permission of family- based residence, long-term residence and settlement of people from the Mainland Area in the Taiwan Area,” the NIA said in a news release. The agency explained it received reports that Liu made “unifying Taiwan through military force” statements on her online
A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck off Taitung County at 1:09pm today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 53km northeast of Taitung County Hall at a depth of 12.5km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Taitung County and Hualien County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Nantou County, Chiayi County, Yunlin County, Kaohsiung and Tainan, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage following the quake.
Tung Tzu-hsien (童子賢), a Taiwanese businessman and deputy convener of the nation’s National Climate Change Committee, said yesterday that “electrical power is national power” and nuclear energy is “very important to Taiwan.” Tung made the remarks, suggesting that his views do not align with the country’s current official policy of phasing out nuclear energy, at a forum organized by the Taiwan People’s Party titled “Challenges and Prospects of Taiwan’s AI Industry and Energy Policy.” “Taiwan is currently pursuing industries with high added- value and is developing vigorously, and this all requires electricity,” said the chairman
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) is to begin his one-year alternative military service tomorrow amid ongoing legal issues, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. Wang, who last month was released on bail of NT$150,000 (US$4,561) as he faces charges of allegedly attempting to evade military service and forging documents, has been ordered to report to Taipei Railway Station at 9am tomorrow, the Alternative Military Service Training and Management Center said. The 33-year-old would join about 1,300 other conscripts in the 263rd cohort of general alternative service for training at the Chenggong Ling camp in Taichung, a center official told reporters. Wang would first