Taiwan Today

Taiwanese companies and tour groups in Xinjiang are all safe following the large-scale riots there, according to the Mainland Affairs Council. The MAC said that according to many sources, the riots in Xinjiang, China have been quelled. Asked if Xinjiang will be listed as a red alert area, MAC Vice Chairman Liu Te-shun said that the situation seems to have calmed down now, and the government will pay close attention to ongoing developments. Taiwan’s Chinese National Federation of Industries also expressed its concern for the Taiwanese companies’ current situation via China’s Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council. So far, there is no report of companies being affected. According to the Urumqi City Government, there were only 21 Taiwanese companies there by the end of 2008, and their total investment reached US$0.4 billion. Among them, the two largest companies are Uni-President Enterprises Corp. and Ting Hsin International Group. Both announced that conditions are normal. The Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps claimed that the riots have been put down and “There are no indications that Taiwanese businessmen have been harmed.” The Tourism Bureau said that currently there are at least four tour groups, consisting of about 91 people, in the area. The tour managers have all contacted the bureau and reported their groups are safe. Travel agencies said that the departure of new groups to Xinjiang will depend on later developments and the decision of the MAC on whether to list it as a red alert area. In addition, Chen Jay-san, director-general of the Bureau of Standards, Metrology and Inspection under the Ministry of Economic Affairs, said that nearly 50 Taiwanese scholars who attended a cross-strait forum on communication standards in Chinese with him in Urumqi are safe. Most of the scholars arrived in Taiwan July 6. (WFW-THN)