The May 23 Life Tour bus accident in Zhangzhou, Fujian Province in mainland China left many Taiwanese dead and injured and has inflicted immense grief and sorrow, Premier Jiang Yi-huah said today.
The premier directed the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC), Mainland Affairs Council (MAC), Financial Supervisory Commission and Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) to continue negotiation with mainland China's relevant agencies, demand an investigation to ascertain causes and liability for the event, and assist the families of the injured and dead with compensation and insurance settlements.
As for victims who have returned to Taiwan for medical treatment, the premier instructed the Ministry of Health and Welfare to coordinate with the hospitals concerned to ensure that these individuals receive the best medical care possible.
The premier made these remarks at today's Cabinet meeting after briefings by the MOTC and MAC on their respective measures in response to the accident.
Taiwanese make over 5 million visits to mainland China every year, Jiang pointed out. The MOTC's Tourism Bureau has set up branch offices in mainland China, and the tourism agencies of Taiwan and mainland China have established a consensus on collaboration on the handling of travel safety and tour accidents.
The premier enjoined the MOTC to continue enhancing cross-strait travel safety measures through the negotiation platforms of the Taiwan Strait Tourism Association and its mainland counterpart, the Cross-Strait Tourism Exchange Association, and to never cease seeking improvement. He also instructed the MOTC and related agencies to play a more proactive role when coordinating with family members, providing timely information and offering follow-up assistance.
The MOTC said it set up a contingency task force immediately after the incident and got hold of timely information for notification and coordination. Aside from prompting the mainland authorities to fully mobilize search-and-rescue efforts, the MOTC has assisted the victims' family members to get accommodation or make arrangements for returning to Taiwan. Since May 24, 17 injured travelers and their relatives have successively come home.
Meanwhile, the Bureau of Consular Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has assisted the victims' families to expediently receive mainland travel documents; the Civil Aeronautics Administration has specially approved TransAsia Airways to carry out a medical charter flight to bring back the injured; the National Immigration Agency has helped reissue travel documents to injured travelers who had lost their papers and exempted them from processing fees as well; and the Aviation Police Bureau has offered these travelers convenient passage through customs, the MOTC pointed out.
The MAC stated it contacted the SEF on the very day of the accident enjoining it to ask its counterpart, the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits, to coordinate with related local government agencies and mainland China's Taiwan Affairs Office on assistance with handling the incident. The SEF has sent personnel to console injured travelers and their dependents and will also help them deal with consequent insurance claims, medical reimbursements and compensation matters.