Premier Su Tseng-chang on Wednesday convened the first Executive Yuan public safety board meeting of the year, where he reminded participating government agencies that the meetings should aspire to more than statistics reports and perfunctory exercises, but must demonstrate resolve and a mindset to make society truly safe and bring tangible results to the people.
Late last December, a large number of foreign tourists ran away shortly after entering Taiwan in tour groups. Because their visas were approved under the government's "Kuan-Hong" program—a New Southbound Policy initiative that simplifies visa regulations for high-end group tourists from Southeast Asia—Premier Su directed agencies to study how similar incidents are handled by other countries and identify solutions for improving the program's procedures as quickly as possible.
This isolated incident should not hamper Taiwan's overall efforts to develop new tourism markets in New Southbound countries, he said. The government will carry on efforts to attract and welcome tour groups from Southeast Asia.