Taiwan launches task force to search for 152 missing Vietnamese tourists.
Officials from Taiwan's National Immigration Agency (NIA) said they have formed a task force to search for 152 Vietnamese tourists who disappeared after arriving on the island last weekend.
The task force in Kaohsiung City has obtained information on the Vietnamese tourists' travel itinerary and is coordinating with the police to locate them. Sources indicate that the NIA is investigating the possibility of human traffickers being involved in the case.
Once apprehended, these Vietnamese tourists will be deported for violating immigration laws and banned from entering Taiwan for a certain period, according to the NIA.
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| Kaohsiung International Airport. Photo: CNA |
Approximately 152 out of 153 Vietnamese tourists, divided into four groups, went missing after arriving in Kaohsiung City on December 21st and 23rd, respectively, upon arriving in Taiwan.
According to Taiwan's CNA news agency, their itinerary was arranged by a Vietnam-based company called International Holidays Trading Travel Co. According to the Taiwan Tourism Bureau, this company has applied for hundreds of e-visas since 2015.
Taiwanese authorities said the first 23 tourists arrived in Kaohsiung on December 21st and then disappeared somewhere between Nantou County and Sanchong District in New Taipei City. The remaining 130 tourists arrived in Kaohsiung, Taoyuan, and Tainan on December 23rd and then went missing on December 23rd and 24th.
According to ETholiday, the travel agency responsible for receiving these Vietnamese tourists in Taiwan,The only person not missing.He was the tour leader. ETholiday claims that the Vietnamese tourists, with the exception of the tour leader, lied about the purpose of their visit to Taiwan.
Taiwan's diplomatic agency announced that it has canceled the visas of 152 missing tourists and rejected visa applications from 182 other Vietnamese tourists who were planning to visit Taiwan under a preferential visa application program for tourists.
Launched in 2015, this program is part of Taiwan's "New Southbound Policy" (NSP), allowing tour groups of five or more people from six countries—Indonesia, Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, and India—to apply for e-visas through "quality travel agencies" licensed by Taiwan's tourism authority to enter Taiwan.No proof of financial means is required.
Over the past three years, an estimated 150 tourists have gone missing, but this time, as many as 152 Vietnamese tourists have disappeared at the same time.
Following the latest incident, the Tourism Department informed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that they have decided to suspend issuing tourist visas to tour groups from Vietnam.
