US commitment to Taiwan’s security would not be diminished by the flare-up of the Israel-Hamas conflict, Presidential Office Deputy Secretary-General Alex Huang (黃重諺) said.
Citing American Institute in Taiwan Chair Laura Rosenberger’s comments during her latest visit to Taipei last week, Huang, in an interview with Mirror TV aired on Friday, said the US has reiterated that its focus on the contingency in the Middle East would not lead to a reduction in its support for Taiwan.
That opposition parties are blaming President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) for the rise in cross-strait tensions and playing up fears of war is irresponsible and plays into Beijing’s hand, Huang said.
Photo: CNA
China since the beginning of the year has directed its cognitive warfare operations toward causing distrust between Taiwan and its key allies, and manipulating the public’s distress about a potential invasion, he said.
Numerous Israelis living abroad voluntarily returned to their country following the attacks by Hamas with an expectation of being called up for military service, which is an example of national resolve, Huang said.
Israel is a multi-party democracy like Taiwan, but its politicians rallied together in defense of their nation, instead of leveling accusations of putting the country’s young people in danger by provoking conflict, he said.
In related developments, 14 evacuees from Israel arrived in Italy on Friday afternoon on a government-paid charter flight.
The Israir Airlines charter flight took off from Ben Gurion International Airport at 12:41am on Friday Israeli time, and arrived at the Fiumicino International Airport in Rome at about 3pm on Friday Italy time, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in press release.
The 179-seat charter flight was boarded by 14 passengers, including nine Taiwanese citizens (a family of five, three backpackers and a student), the ministry said.
Four nationals from Taiwan’s Central American ally Guatemala and one from the nation’s South American ally Paraguay were also on board the evacuation plane, it added.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) said 137 citizens of the Republic of China have chosen to remain in Israel and not be evacuated to other countries or return to Taiwan.
Eighty-eight of them are overseas Taiwanese and students, while the remaining 49 are Taiwanese who are married to Israeli nationals and have acquired Israeli citizenship, Wu said.
At least 35 People’s Republic of China (PRC) citizens have reached out to Taiwan’s office in Tel Aviv to board the Taipei-sponsored charter flight on Friday, Wu said.
Ultimately none of the Chinse nationals joined the flight after Taiwan’s representative office asked for their passport information to make arrangements, Wu said.
The PRC has not arranged any charter flights to evacuate its citizens from Israel. Instead, it has advised Chinese to leave Israel on their own, as commercial flights are still available in the Middle Eastern country.
Currently, Taipei has its travel alert for Israel at the second-highest orange alert, advising people to avoid unnecessary travel to the country.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has continued to issue the highest-level red alert for Gaza City and the West Bank, asking Taiwanese not to visit these areas.
China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs estimated that about 1,000 Chinese have left Israel on their own amid the Israeli-Hamas war.
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