Crime and cholera: Taiwan advises citizens not to visit South Africa
Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued an orange travel alert for SA, citing a surge in cholera cases and concerns over public safety. Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs advised against travelling to South Africa, issuing an orange travel alert for the country. Poor public safety and scams targeting its citizens were listed as some of […]
Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued an orange travel alert for SA, citing a surge in cholera cases and concerns over public safety.
Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs advised against travelling to South Africa, issuing an orange travel alert for the country. Poor public safety and scams targeting its citizens were listed as some of the reasons by the ministry.
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CHOLERA OUTBREAK AND SAFETY CONCERNS: TAIWAN ADVISES AGAINST TRAVEL TO SOUTH AFRICA DUE TO INCREASING CASES AND DETERIORATING LAW AND ORDER
According to the Taipei Times, the orange travel alert was issued at the end of May due to the increase in cholera cases, load shedding and “deteriorating law and order.”
According to the report, Wu Cheng-Wei, Department of West Asian and African Affairs Deputy Director, quoted the recently released South African Police Service Q4 crime statistics during a press conference in Taipei on Tuesday, 6 June.
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Wu reportedly said South Africa has an average of 13 hijackings, robbery and theft cases every hour – this was used to illustrate the deterioration of law and order.
PHONE SCAMS AND FINANCIAL FRAUD
The Taipei Liaison Office in South Africa also recently received complaints from Taiwanese citizens overseas. They said suspicious phone calls were being made from the country, asking them to provide their banking details or transfer cash, said the Deputy-Director.
He said the callers allegedly pretended to be staffers from the Chinese embassy in South Africa, local government or law enforcement officials.
Wu encouraged people to be wary of phone scams and refrain from transferring money or providing banking information.