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進入《TAIPEI TIMES》 Taiwanese in Ukraine ‘likely to stay’
People walk past the Russian embassy in Kiev, Ukraine, on Saturday. Photo: AFP
LOW CHANCE: Like most Taiwanese living in Ukraine, a university student surnamed Chen said he does not think the situation is as dire as Western media report
/ Staff writer, with CNA
Most Taiwanese nationals living in Ukraine do not feel an urgency to leave, despite world governments’ warning that a Russian invasion is an imminent threat, a Taiwanese studying at Kyiv National Linguistic University said on Sunday.
Life remains quite normal in Ukraine, said the student, who asked to be identified only as Chen （陳）.
“Schools are open, and people are going out shopping, dining and having fun on the streets,” he said. “It does not look like a Russian invasion is imminent.”
Chen is one of about 25 Taiwanese working or studying in Ukraine who have been advised by the Taiwanese government to leave as soon as possible in light of a warning by the US that Russia might soon invade the eastern European country.
Like most Taiwanese in Ukraine, Chen said that he does not think the situation is as dire as reported in the Western media.
The Taiwanese there are all of the opinion that there is little chance of an imminent all-out war between Russia and Ukraine, he said, adding that this is the reason he has decided to stay in Kiev.
“The Taiwanese I know all think that the tensions between Russia and Ukraine are like those between China and Taiwan,” he said. “People from other countries might think it’s terrifying to see warplanes regularly flying overhead, but Taiwanese have gotten used to that.”
However, some of the university’s students from other foreign countries have left, said Chen, who majors in Russian and has been living in Kiev for one year and four months.
He said that four classmates from South Korea left Ukraine early on Sunday, after being instructed to do so the previous day by South Korea’s embassy in the city.
The South Koreans were told that they would be punished by their government if they did not comply with the order to leave, he added.
Chen said that he has been receiving regular updates on the Ukraine situation via a WhatsApp group set up by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Taiwan.
The ministry has advised the Taiwanese expatriates in Ukraine to leave as soon as possible, but has not ordered them to do so, he said.
The ministry on Sunday issued an advisory for the second consecutive day to Taiwanese citizens to leave Ukraine, a former Soviet state.
Taiwanese in Ukraine can seek assistance from Taiwan’s representative office in Moscow, the Taipei-Moscow Economic and Cultural Coordination Commission, the ministry said.
They can also contact the Taiwan Trade Center in Kiev, which is run by the Taiwan External Trade Development Council, it added.
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
