Eleven suspects were arrested after a group of armed attackers broke into Taiwan’s embassy in Haiti, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday, adding that it was unclear if the suspects were also involved in the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moise.
Interim Haitian Prime Minister Claude Joseph on Wednesday confirmed that Moise, 53, had been assassinated at his residence that morning, while his wife, Martine Moise, was wounded.
MOFA spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) said yesterday that the embassy, about 2km from Moise’s residence in Petion-Ville, a suburb of Port-au-Prince, was closed “for safety reasons” after the murder.
Embassy staff have been working from home since Wednesday and the office has suspended public services, Ou said.
Early on Thursday morning, embassy security personnel discovered an armed group of people breaking through the embassy’s security perimeter and entering the courtyard, she said, adding that security immediately notified embassy staff and the Haitian police.
The embassy agreed to let police enter the embassy to conduct a search, which started at about 4pm on Thursday, with the police arresting the suspects, she said.
“As for whether the suspects were involved in the assassination of the president of Haiti, that will need to be investigated by the Haitian police,” Ou said.
Some doors and windows had been broken at the embassy, but no other property had been stolen or damaged, she said.
The ministry has asked the embassy to bolster security, Ou said.
Haiti is one of Taiwan’s 15 diplomatic allies.
The government reiterated its support for Joseph in leading Haiti to overcome this crisis and restore order, Ou said, adding that Taiwan strongly condemns the “cruel and barbaric” assassination.
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Wednesday said that the nation stands together with its ally in this difficult time.
Additional reporting by AFP and AP
CAUTION: Based on intelligence from the nation’s security agencies, MOFA has cautioned Taiwanese travelers about heightened safety risks in China-friendly countries The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday urged Taiwanese to be aware of their safety when traveling abroad, especially in countries that are friendly to China. China in June last year issued 22 guidelines that allow its courts to try in absentia and sentence to death so-called “diehard” Taiwanese independence activists, even though Chinese courts have no jurisdiction in Taiwan. Late last month, a senior Chinese official gave closed-door instructions to state security units to implement the guidelines in countries friendly to China, a government memo and a senior Taiwan security official said, based on information gathered by Taiwan’s intelligence agency. The
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
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said yesterday that it is looking to hire 8,000 people this year, at a time when the tech giant is expanding production capacity to maintain its lead over competitors. To attract talent, TSMC would launch a large-scale recruitment campaign on campuses across Taiwan, where a newly recruited engineer with a master’s degree could expect to receive an average salary of NT$2.2 million (US$60,912), which is much higher than the 2023 national average of NT$709,000 for those in the same category, according to government statistics. TSMC, which accounted for more than 60 percent
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
RSS