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
A fugitive in a suspected cosmetic surgery fraud case today returned to Taiwan from Canada, after being wanted for six years. Internet celebrity Su Chen-tuan (蘇陳端), known as Lady Nai Nai (貴婦奈奈), and her former boyfriend, plastic surgeon Paul Huang (黃博健), allegedly defrauded clients and friends of about NT$1 billion (US$30.66 million). Su was put on a wanted list in 2019 when she lived in Toronto, Canada, after failing to respond to subpoenas and arrest warrants from the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office. Su arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport at 5am today on an EVA Air flight accompanied by a
COVID-19 infections have climbed for three consecutive weeks and are likely to reach another peak between next month and June, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. Weekly hospital visits for the disease increased by 19 percent from the previous week, CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) said. From Tuesday last week to yesterday, 21 cases of severe COVID-19 and seven deaths were confirmed, and from Sept. 1 last year to yesterday, there were 600 cases and 129 deaths, he said. From Oct. 1 last year to yesterday, 95.9 percent of the severe cases and 96.7 percent of the deaths
Restarting the No. 2 reactor at the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant would take up to 18 months, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said today. Kuo was answering questions during a meeting of the Legislative Yuan’s Economics Committee, where legislators are considering amendments to the Renewable Energy Development Act (再生能源發展條) amid concerns about the consequences of the Pingtung County reactor’s decommissioning scheduled for May 17. Its decommissioning is to mark the end of Taiwan’s nuclear power production. However, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers have proposed an amendment to the Nuclear Reactor Facilities Regulation Act (核子反應器設施管制法) that would extend the life of existing
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday demanded that Somalia reverse its decision prohibiting Taiwanese passport holders from entering or transiting through the country. Somalia said it is following the “one China” principle based on UN Resolution 2758. The ministry said that Somalia is misinterpreting the resolution under China’s instigation, creating a false impression that Taiwan is subordinate to China. The Somali Civil Aviation Authority told airlines on Tuesday last week that starting today, any passengers with passports or travel documents issued from Taiwan or its affiliated institutions would not be allowed to enter or transit through Somalia. The decision comes as Taiwan is boosting
RSS