On September 19, 2022, the Labour Minister, Mr. Suchart Chomklin, spoke about the earthquake in the northeastern city of Taiwan that happened in the middle of the night on September 17. Aftershocks followed, hitting 6.8 on the Richter scale. The Deputy Prime Minister and Acting Prime Minister, General Prawit Wongsuwan, has monitored the situation and showed concern for all Thai people residing in Taiwan. He has emphasized that relevant agencies warn Thai people in Taiwan to be cautious of the situation. As for the Ministry of Labour, the Labour Minister has instructed Labour Ambassadors to alert all Thai workers to be more careful, to monitor the situation and information closely, and strictly follow the official instructions, as there may be many aftershock waves following. If anyone experiences an accident or needs help, please contact the Taipei Labour Office’s Facebook page. They are also asked to prepare their passports and be ready to travel in an emergency.
Mr. Suchart said that from reports by Ms. Praphawadee Kaewsiripong, Minister Counselor (on Labour) from the Labour Office in Manila (Part 2), Taipei, the earthquake resulted in 142 injured who are Taiwanese and indigenous. Of these, 76 are in Hualien, 55 in Taitung, four in Kaohsiung, two in New Taipei, two in Taoyuan, two in Pingtung, and one in Chiayi. There was one death who was a Taiwanese male, aged 65. He died while working in a cement factory, where the dust chimney collapsed on his back. He was being treated and died at the hospital. The earthquake also caused power outages in eastern Taiwan, affecting 24,834 households, with 5,442 households having no running water.
Mr. Suchart continued that at present, there are 64,311 Thai workers still working in Taiwan, including 57,443 manufacturing workers, 6,318 construction workers, 137 agricultural workers, and 413 workers in social welfare sectors such as housewives/kindergartens. The earthquake’s epicenter was in Taitung city, where there were 6 Thai workers. However, the severely affected city with collapsed buildings and bridges is Hualien, where 302 Thai workers were not affected by this incident. Most Thai workers work in Taoyuan (18,746 persons), Taichung (10,868 persons), and New Taipei (7,593 persons), which are far from the epicenter of the earthquake. Nevertheless, the Thailand Trade and Economic Office has continuously monitored the situation and notified information workers via Facebook and LINE.
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Division of Public Relations
19 September 2022
