MOFA urges people not to go to high-risk areas in Myanmar

• By Lee I-chia / Staff reporter

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The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday urged people to make every effort to dissuade their family or friends if they are planning to travel to Myanmar’s cyberfraud compounds, as there are almost no good options for rescue if they encounter safety issues there.

Department of East Asian and Pacific Affairs Director-General Michael Lin (林昭宏) said the Burmese military launched an airstrike in Kyauktaw town on Monday last week, which killed at least 50 people and injured 58 people.

Taiwan’s representative office in Myanmar verified that Kyauktaw in western Myanmar’s Rakhine State is controlled by the Arakan Army, and Myanmar’s military regime strictly forbids international travelers from entering Kyauktaw and areas under Arakan Army control, he said.

Director-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Department of East Asian and Pacific Affairs Michael Lin speaks at a press conference in Taipei yesterday.

Photo: Huang Chin-hsuan, Taipei Times

The Bureau of Consular Affairs has since April 7 had a “Level 4: Red” Travel Alert — meaning “evacuate, leave as soon as possible” — for the area, Lin said, adding that the representative office confirmed no Taiwanese were injured or killed in the airstrike.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs reminds people that there are still many armed conflicts going on between ethnic armed groups and the military regime in Myanmar, so if an emergency event occurs, rescue operations would be extremely difficult,” he said. “We strongly urge our citizens not to travel to or stay in this area, in order to ensure their personal safety.”

Lin said there are many scam centers in these areas, and if Taiwanese travel there and encounter situations that threaten their personal safety, the overseas mission has almost no options to rescue them.

“We urge people, if they know family or friends who insist on visiting these areas, to make every effort to dissuade them from going, to avoid causing unnecessary trouble to themselves and their family,” he said.

While the ministry would make every effort to assist travelers in distress, it is hobbled by practical realities and there are limits to what it can achieve, and it asks for public understanding in this regard, he added.

Elsewhere, Lin said heavy rains in Thailand caused flooding in Bangkok and severely disrupted operations at Suvarnabhumi International Airport last week, stranding almost 200 Taiwanese travelers at the airport on Monday last week due to flight delays.

The ministry received a report complaining about Thai Airways’ handling of flight delays and services on Tuesday last week, so it asked the local representative office to contact the airline, and the office sent three officials to the airport to assist Taiwanese travelers returning to Taiwan.

Thailand has entered its rainy season and heavy rains might still cause flooding, so the ministry reminds people who are traveling to Thailand to pay close attention to local conditions and confirm the flight status with airlines before departure, he said, adding that travelers should consider purchasing travel insurance.

Separately, asked about on the Taiwan People’s Party caucus’ accusation on Monday that Overseas Community Affairs Council Minister Hsu Chia-ching (徐佳青) misused her position during overseas trips, ministry deputy spokesperson Chen Yi-chun (陳怡君) said the ministry has not received an report or complaint on the issue yet, but to be prudent, it has asked the overseas missions involved to investigate and clarify the issue.

Hsu was accused of taking her teenage son on an official overseas trip as a “staff photographer” and allowing her husband to drive government vehicles for personal use.

The representative offices in the US were asked to detail their use of diplomatic vehicles, and the office in Germany was asked to verify who attended certain events, she said.

The ministry values the proper use of public resources and the security of official information across its overseas missions, and runs them in line with ministry regulations, Chen said.