Philippine nationals could become eligible for visa-free entry for stays in Taiwan of up to 14 days by next month or November, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Department of East Asian and Pacific Affairs Director-General Winston Chen (陳文儀) said yesterday.
The details of the new policy were hammered out at an interministerial meeting of national security, police, immigration and other officials, Chen said at a news conference, adding that Premier William Lai (賴清德) approved the program on Wednesday.
The government has decided to implement the visa-free program on a trial basis to promote people-to-people, tourist and commercial exchanges between Taiwan and the Philippines, Chen said, adding that the start date for the trial is expected to be announced in a month.
Photo: CNA
The government encourages Manila to follow the principle of reciprocity and grant Taiwanese nationals visa-free privileges as soon as possible, Chen said.
The government has since Aug. 1 relaxed visa rules for nationals of the 10 ASEAN member states, which include the Philippines, as well as for Indian nationals.
Taiwan included the Philippines in its electronic visa program on Oct. 7 last year.
The Travel Agent Association of the Republic of China, Taiwan said it expected the visa-waiver program to attract 33 percent more Philippine visitors to Taiwan next year and boost tourism revenue by NT$2 billion (US$65.8 million).
Tourism revenue from Philippine tourists has been forecast to reach NT$7 billion this year, it said.
The Manila Economic and Cultural Office in Taipei (MECO) later yesterday said that it welcomes the ministry’s plan for the visa waiver program, adding that it would respond to the friendly gesture by relaxing visa requirements for Taiwanese travelers in the Philippines.
In a separate statement, it called for Taipei and Manila to work more closely together, especially on fighting cross-border crime.
That statement came a day after the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) in Manila rejected a claim by Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte that drugs in the Philippines originated in Taiwan.
MECO Chairman Angelito Banayo called for closer cooperation in the areas of law enforcement and combating organized crime.
“We all know that organized crime, specifically drug trafficking, knows no borders, which calls for closer coordination between the Philippine and Taiwan authorities,” Banayo said.
MECO and TECO have been working together “closely in forging agreements on law enforcement cooperation aimed at addressing borderless crimes such as drug smuggling and human trafficking,” the statement said.
Such law enforcement agreements are in the pipeline and are expected to be signed by the end of this year or early next year, the statement added.
One of the key components of President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) New Southbound Policy is to strengthen collaboration with other nations to fight international crime, which in the case of the Philippines means a concerted effort to combat narcotics, the statement said.
EXPRESSING GRATITUDE: Without its Taiwanese partners which are ‘working around the clock,’ Nvidia could not meet AI demand, CEO Jensen Huang said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and US-based artificial intelligence (AI) chip designer Nvidia Corp have partnered with each other on silicon photonics development, Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) said. Speaking with reporters after he met with TSMC chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) in Taipei on Friday, Huang said his company was working with the world’s largest contract chipmaker on silicon photonics, but admitted it was unlikely for the cooperation to yield results any time soon, and both sides would need several years to achieve concrete outcomes. To have a stake in the silicon photonics supply chain, TSMC and
IDENTITY: Compared with other platforms, TikTok’s algorithm pushes a ‘disproportionately high ratio’ of pro-China content, a study has found Young Taiwanese are increasingly consuming Chinese content on TikTok, which is changing their views on identity and making them less resistant toward China, researchers and politicians were cited as saying by foreign media. Asked to suggest the best survival strategy for a small country facing a powerful neighbor, students at National Chia-Yi Girls’ Senior High School said “Taiwan must do everything to avoid provoking China into attacking it,” the Financial Times wrote on Friday. Young Taiwanese between the ages of 20 and 24 in the past were the group who most strongly espoused a Taiwanese identity, but that is no longer
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake and several aftershocks battered southern Taiwan early this morning, causing houses and roads to collapse and leaving dozens injured and 50 people isolated in their village. A total of 26 people were reported injured and sent to hospitals due to the earthquake as of late this morning, according to the latest Ministry of Health and Welfare figures. In Sising Village (西興) of Chiayi County's Dapu Township (大埔), the location of the quake's epicenter, severe damage was seen and roads entering the village were blocked, isolating about 50 villagers. Another eight people who were originally trapped inside buildings in Tainan
SHARED VALUES: The US, Taiwan and other allies hope to maintain the cross-strait ‘status quo’ to foster regional prosperity and growth, the former US vice president said Former US vice president Mike Pence yesterday vowed to continue to support US-Taiwan relations, and to defend the security and interests of both countries and the free world. At a meeting with President William Lai (賴清德) at the Presidential Office in Taipei, Pence said that the US and Taiwan enjoy strong and continued friendship based on the shared values of freedom, the rule of law and respect for human rights. Such foundations exceed limitations imposed by geography and culture, said Pence, who is visiting Taiwan for the first time. The US and Taiwan have shared interests, and Americans are increasingly concerned about China’s
RSS