Taiwan is considering visa entry privileges for tourists from eight ASEAN members, in line with the government’s “New Southbound Policy,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
In a report submitted to several legislative committees, the ministry said it has been working to promote the government’s new policy, which was outlined by President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) during last year’s presidential election campaign.
Visitors from Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam would be granted entry privileges such as visa waivers, landing visas or e-visas, according to the report.
Visitors from two other ASEAN member nations, Malaysia and Singapore, already enjoy visa exemptions for stays of up to 30 days in Taiwan.
As the “New Southbound Policy” aims to achieve an economic transformation for Taiwan and push for a greater role for the nation in foreign affairs and global issues, Southeast Asia forms a key segment that Taiwan must seize as part of its efforts to expand its domestic market with a “people-focused” strategy, the report said.
To achieve this goal, Taiwan is emphasizing joining regional economic integration and attracting tourists from Southeast Asia and South Asia, it said.
Taiwan had a “Go South” push in the 1990s under then-president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝), but it did not succeed because China was opening up at the time and the region was hit by the 1997 financial crisis.
With the Democratic Progressive Party’s win in both the presidential and legislative elections in January, the number of Chinese tourists visiting Taiwan has fallen in recent months.
To compensate for the loss in tourism dollars from Chinese visitors, the government is keen to attract tourists from Southeast Asia, South Asia and East Asia, without compromising national security and public order, the ministry said.
CAUTION: Based on intelligence from the nation’s security agencies, MOFA has cautioned Taiwanese travelers about heightened safety risks in China-friendly countries The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday urged Taiwanese to be aware of their safety when traveling abroad, especially in countries that are friendly to China. China in June last year issued 22 guidelines that allow its courts to try in absentia and sentence to death so-called “diehard” Taiwanese independence activists, even though Chinese courts have no jurisdiction in Taiwan. Late last month, a senior Chinese official gave closed-door instructions to state security units to implement the guidelines in countries friendly to China, a government memo and a senior Taiwan security official said, based on information gathered by Taiwan’s intelligence agency. The
The National Immigration Agency (NIA) said yesterday that it will revoke the dependent-based residence permit of a Chinese social media influencer who reportedly “openly advocated for [China’s] unification through military force” with Taiwan. The Chinese national, identified by her surname Liu (劉), will have her residence permit revoked in accordance with Article 14 of the “Measures for the permission of family- based residence, long-term residence and settlement of people from the Mainland Area in the Taiwan Area,” the NIA said in a news release. The agency explained it received reports that Liu made “unifying Taiwan through military force” statements on her online
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said yesterday that it is looking to hire 8,000 people this year, at a time when the tech giant is expanding production capacity to maintain its lead over competitors. To attract talent, TSMC would launch a large-scale recruitment campaign on campuses across Taiwan, where a newly recruited engineer with a master’s degree could expect to receive an average salary of NT$2.2 million (US$60,912), which is much higher than the 2023 national average of NT$709,000 for those in the same category, according to government statistics. TSMC, which accounted for more than 60 percent
Tung Tzu-hsien (童子賢), a Taiwanese businessman and deputy convener of the nation’s National Climate Change Committee, said yesterday that “electrical power is national power” and nuclear energy is “very important to Taiwan.” Tung made the remarks, suggesting that his views do not align with the country’s current official policy of phasing out nuclear energy, at a forum organized by the Taiwan People’s Party titled “Challenges and Prospects of Taiwan’s AI Industry and Energy Policy.” “Taiwan is currently pursuing industries with high added- value and is developing vigorously, and this all requires electricity,” said the chairman
RSS