Taiwan raises travel alert to Nepal following deadly unrest

Taipei, Sept. 16 (CNA) Taiwan's government has raised its travel alert for Nepal to the second-highest orange alert level, calling on people to avoid unnecessary travel following deadly anti-corruption protests that ousted the government earlier this month.

Michael Lin (林昭宏), head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' (MOFA) Department of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, said the decision to raise the travel warning was made on Sept. 10, after a round of large protests and demonstrations in Nepal between Sept. 8 and Sept. 9.

After the protests caused injuries and deaths, the Nepalese authorities temporarily declared curfews in parts of major cities.

According to Lin, there were two Taiwanese tour groups in Nepal during the unrest, and so far, all 47 members of the two groups have safely returned to Taiwan.

Around a dozen overseas Taiwanese and their relatives in Nepal are also safe, he added.

Now that the situation has stabilized, Sushila Karki, former chief justice of the Supreme Court of Nepal, has been sworn in as the country's interim prime minister, according to Lin.

Nepal is set to hold general elections in March next year, Lin said, adding that Taiwan's government will continue to closely monitor developments.

In the event of an emergency, Taiwanese nationals in Nepal can call Taiwan's representative office in India in charge of Nepal affairs on its emergency hotline at +91 9810-642-658, or MOFA Taipei headquarters' 24/7 toll-free emergency hotline at 0800-085-095, according to MOFA.

Under MOFA's four-color travel alert system, the lowest level is gray, followed by yellow, orange and red.