Taiwan sets up special task force to search for 152 missing Vietnamese tourists

The Kaohsiung task force has information about the Vietnamese tourists’ itinerary and is coordinating with the police to search for them. Sources said the NIA is investigating the possibility of human traffickers being involved in the case.

Once arrested, these Vietnamese tourists will be deported for violating immigration laws and banned from entering Taiwan for a certain period of time, according to the NIA.

Kaohsiung International Airport. Photo: CNA

About 152 out of 153 Vietnamese tourists divided into 4 groups to Taiwan then went missing after arriving in Kaohsiung City on December 21 and 23 respectively.

According to Taiwan's CNA news agency, their itinerary was arranged by a Vietnam-based company called International Holidays Trading Travel Co., which has registered hundreds of e-visas since 2015, according to Taiwan's Tourism Bureau.

Taiwanese officials said the first 23 tourists arrived in Kaohsiung on December 21 and disappeared somewhere between Nantou County and Sanchong District in New Taipei City. The remaining 130 tourists arrived in Kaohsiung, Taoyuan, and Tainan on December 23 and went missing on December 23 and 24.

According to the travel agency ETholiday responsible for welcoming these Vietnamese tourists in Taiwan,the only person who is not missingis the group leader. ETholiday said that the Vietnamese tourists, except for the group leader, lied about the purpose of their visit to Taiwan.

Taiwan's foreign ministry said it has canceled the visas of 152 missing tourists and rejected the visa applications of 182 other Vietnamese tourists who planned to visit Taiwan under the preferential program on Taiwan tourist visa procedures.

Issued since 2015, this program is part of Taiwan's "New Southbound Policy" (NSP), allowing tourist groups of five or more people from six countries including Indonesia, Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and India to apply for e-visas through "quality travel companies" licensed by Taiwan's tourism authority to enter Taiwan withoutno financial documents required

In the past three years, it is estimated that a total of 150 tourists have gone missing, but this time, 152 Vietnamese tourists went missing at the same time.

Following the latest incident, the Tourism Department informed the Foreign Affairs Office that they had decided to stop issuing tourist visas to tourist groups from Vietnam.