Coming to the Rescue: MOFA's Emergency Assistance for Taiwanese Travelers

Coming to the Rescue: MOFA's Emergency Assistance for Taiwanese Travelers

『他乡贵人　海外急难救助情牵一线』

　　Kung Chung-chen, director-general of MOFA's Bureau of Consular Affairs (BOCA), says MOFA has duties on which the sun never sets. He describes BOCA as the ministry's 7-Eleven, handling a variety of services including verifying and issuing visas and passports, and staffing MOFA's emergency call center. Currently, MOFA has 117 offices overseas in capitals and other important cities. Apart from issuing travel documents, they also serve as front-line outposts when citizens traveling abroad encounter emergencies and need help. Kung explains that as soon as they learn of an incident, their offices dispatch personnel as soon as possible to provide on-the-spot assistance.

　　In 2013, MOFA offices handled a total of 5,974 emergencies involving ROC travelers or expatriates. The largest number of these cases involved stolen or lost passports. The remainder comprised auto accidents, funeral arrangements, imprisonments, incidents involving Taiwanese fishermen, and missing persons. For diplomats on call, it is impossible to know when they will occur and what they will involve.

　　Take nearby Singapore for example. As the number of Taiwanese traveling there has steadily grown, so has the workload of MOFA staff posted there. Fan Huei-chun, deputy attaché of the Taipei Representative Office in Singapore, explains that duty officers must be on call at all times. If an officer doesn't pick up the phone promptly, the call is immediately transferred to a second officer's number.

　　These providers of emergency assistance are like old friends who arrive to help when one is most in need. Travelers should be aware of the diplomatic constraints that the ROC faces abroad and understand the limits of what is meant by emergency assistance. Once an ROC citizen makes that call, MOFA officers stationed overseas will do all they can to help.

他乡贵人　海外急难救助情牵一线

　　外交部领事事务局局长龚中诚指出，外交部的职责从不间断。他把领事事务局形容为『外交部的 7-ELEVEN』，负责处理各式各样的服务，包括核发签证及护照，以及负责外交部紧急联络中心的任务。目前外交部在世界各国首都及其他重要城市共有一百一十七个办事处。除了核发旅游文件之外，这些办事处还要担任国人出国旅游遇到紧急状况并需要协助时的第一线尖兵。龚中诚解释道，一旦得知有事故发生，这些办事处会尽快派遣工作人员前往现场提供协助。

　　2013 年，外交部驻外办事处总共处理了五千九百七十四件出国旅游国人及移居国外侨民的急难救助事件。其中以护照遭窃或遗失为最大宗。其他还包括车祸意外、亡故善后、触法遭囚禁、渔事案件及协助寻人等。对于守在电话前的外交人员而言，要知道上述事件何时会发生以及事件内容为何是不可能的。

　　在此举邻近的新加坡为例。由于台湾人前往当地旅游的人数稳定成长，当地驻外办事处人员的工作量也随之增加。外交部驻新加坡的台北代表处副参事范惠君解释道，值勤人员必须随时在在线待命。如果某位工作人员没有实时接到电话，该通电话就会立即转接给第二位工作人员。

　　这些提供急难救助的人员就好像在人们最需要帮助的时候赶来伸出援手的老朋友。游客应该要了解我国在国外所面临的外交限制以及所谓急难救助的范围。一旦中国民国的国民拨了急难救助专线，外交部的驻外人员一定会尽可能地提供协助。

本社为尊重《台湾光华杂志》，中文原文登出，仅供参考，中英文如有不尽相符之处，敬请包涵。