The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday called on Taiwanese stranded in Myanmar to contact the local Taipei Economic and Cultural Office as soon as possible for assistance amid an escalation in violence in the Southeast Asian country.
Armed conflict broke out in northern Myanmar late last month, with the UN describing it as “the largest in scale and most extensive geographically” since a military coup in February 2021.
An alliance of ethnic minority insurgent groups joined forces with fighters calling for democracy to launch an attempt to challenge the junta’s rule, Reuters reported.
Photo: AFP
Taipei has so far helped 149 Taiwanese return to Taiwan, while 84 remain in the nation, ministry spokesman Jeff Liu (劉永健) said.
Traveling in northern Myanmar has become difficult and foreigners are prohibited from crossing through many areas, he said.
The office is working with overseas Taiwanese in Myanmar and international non-governmental organizations to help stranded Taiwanese, Liu said.
When receiving calls for assistance from Taiwanese, the office would locate the person right away and help them work out plans to seek safety, he said.
Regarding reports that Burmese authorities had as of Tuesday handed over 31,000 telecom fraud suspects to China as part of a bilateral effort to crack down on online scams, Liu said that the National Police Agency is looking into reports that six of the suspects are Taiwanese.
The agency would help them return to Taiwan if the report is found to be true, he added.
In other developments, the ministry has alerted Taiwanese residents and travelers in Zimbabwe about the seriousness of a local cholera epidemic.
The cholera outbreak in the southern African country has become increasingly serious, with more than 500 new cases reported every week since the end of last month, Department of West Asian and African Affairs Director-General Anthony Ho (賀忠義) said.
As of last week, there were more than 1,200 confirmed cases, more than 50 confirmed deaths from cholera and more than 150 deaths suspected to be from the disease this year, Ho said, citing Zimbabwean Ministry of Health and Child Care data.
Earlier this month, Zimbabwe declared a state of emergency in the capital, Harare, over the outbreak, which likely resulted from water contamination, he said.
Taiwanese in Zimbabwe should pay close attention to the epidemic and, when in need, contact the Taipei Liaison Office in the Republic of South Africa at 27-82-802-9380 or the ministry at 886-800-085-095, he said.
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
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