導讀:該越南旅行團21日、23日抵達高雄后，除一名領隊外，已有152人脫團失聯。

The Taiwanese authorities are searching for 152 Vietnamese people who arrived on tourist visas last week and have since gone missing.

152名越南人上周持旅游簽證抵達臺灣后失蹤了，臺灣當局目前正在搜尋這些人。

The tourists arrived in the southern city of Kaohsiung on 21 and 23 December, but all but one appear to have absconded, officials say.

官員們說，這些游客于12月21日和23日抵達南部城市高雄，但除了其中一人外，其他人似乎都潛逃了。

Local media reports suggest they may intend to work illegally in Taiwan.

當地媒體報道稱他們可能打算在臺灣非法工作。

Taiwan has waived visa fees for certain visitors from Asian countries including Vietnam, in a bid to boost tourism.

臺灣免除了包括越南在內的亞洲國家的某些游客的簽證費，以促進旅游業。

This is believed to be the largest case of tourists disappearing ever since the visa programme began in 2015.

這可能是自2015年簽證計劃開始以來游客消失的最大宗案例。

The National Immigration Agency said it had set up a taskforce to investigate the tourists and "the group behind them".

臺灣移民局表示，已經成立了一個專門小組來調查這些游客和“他們背后的團體”。

If caught, the tourists would be deported and banned from the island for between three and five years, the agency added.

該機構補充說，如果被抓住，這些游客將被驅逐出境并被禁止進入該島三至五年。

Vietnam’s foreign ministry told AFP news agency that it was in contact with Taiwan and would work to ensure that tourism and exchange programmes would not be affected.

越南外交部告訴法新社，它正與臺灣接觸，并將努力確保旅游和交流計劃不會受到影響。

Taiwan is one of Asia’s big traders, and is ranked as one of the richest per capita economies in the region.

臺灣是亞洲的大貿易商之一，并被列為在該地區人均最富裕的經濟體之一。

來源:BBC