Two opposition parties yesterday expressed dissatisfaction at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' reaction to the bomb attack on the Indonesian resort island of Bali, and they urged the government to take immediate responsive measures.

Despite the fact that the bombing in Bali caused many deaths and injuries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not move immediately to list Indonesia as a highly dangerous area or restrict travel to that country, but only issued a safety warning to travelers from Taiwan.

Kuomintang legislative leader Lee Chuan-chiao (ÀîÈ«½Ì) pointed out that the incident had exposed the DPP government's poor crisis management skills, particularly in view of the Executive Yuan's claim that it had, last Friday, obtained intelligence on a possible terrorist attack in a southeast Asian Muslim country.

According to Lee, the worst part is that the government did not issue a warning because the United States government asked it not to disclose the information.

"The KMT's priority is the safety of our people - not America's national interests." He also called on the government to establish an anti-terrorism crisis management team.

Meanwhile, People First Party legislative leader Shen Chih-hwei (ÉòÖÇ»Û) asked the government to assist in the return of Taiwan nationals currently in Indonesia. She said she would like to commend Premier Yu Shyi-kun (ÓÎåaˆÒ) for obtaining advance information on the terrorist attack, but on the other hand would like to condemn him for not warning the Taiwanese people to stay away from danger.