Taiwan has been nominated for inclusion in the US Visa Waiver Program (VWP), pending a review of the nation’s homeland security and immigration system by the US government, the American Institute of Taiwan (AIT) announced yesterday.
In response to media inquiries about the possible impact of the decision on the presidential election in three weeks, AIT Acting Director Eric Madison said the announcement was made because of the “recent completion of statutory requirements” for Taiwan to qualify for the program.
“We are announcing it now because Taiwan is ready now. Taiwan made the statutory requirements just recently. We are not going to delay or, on the other hand, nominate Taiwan when it isn’t ready,” Madison said.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
The eligibility requirements for the waiver program include the use of biometric passports, mandatory in-person passport applications, signing agreements with the US on information exchange on lost and stolen passports, a visa refusal rate of less than 3 percent and tight immigration controls against felons and terrorists.
“Taiwan has to be qualified to be nominated. The last agreement was concluded yesterday, so the statutory requirements have been completed,” Madison said.
Madison said the US “took a neutral stance” on the election and that the completion of the requirements was “the deciding factor.”
The AIT called a press conference at 4:30pm yesterday to announce the decision, which Madison said was principally a “credit to the great economic, social and political progress” Taiwanese have made over the years.
Madison said the nomination was the culmination of hard work and cooperation between Taiwan and the US.
“In the last year in particular, Taiwan has adopted important measures to strengthen its security and immigration systems in accordance with US statutory requirements for the VWP,” he said.
The nomination will be followed by an extensive and detailed evaluation of Taiwan’s homeland security and immigration systems by the US Department of Homeland Security. The US Congress would then be notified.
The AIT did not set a time frame for the completion of that process and provided no estimate based on past experiences of other VWP countries.
“There is no time frame. Each case is a unique case,” Madison said.
At present, the VWP allows nationals from 36 participating countries to travel to the US for tourism or business (“B” visa purposes only) for stays of 90 days or less without obtaining a visa, the AIT said.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs called a press conference at 5:30pm to welcome the announcement, with Minister of Foreign Affairs Timothy Yang (楊進添) describing the nomination as a “hard-earned achievement” that “both the government and people of Taiwan should be proud of.”
It showed that efforts made by the government to improve passport security and other aspects have been recognized and that it manifested the statement made by US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton that Taiwan is “an important security and economic partner” of the US, Yang said.
“More importantly, it also shows that Taiwanese have proved to be well-mannered and law-abiding citizens,” he said.
If Taiwan is admitted to the VWP, it will become the fifth Asian county to enjoy the privilege, following Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Brunei, Yang said.
Yang said he expected Taiwanese would be able to travel to the US without a visa in the latter half of next year.
“It’s a great Christmas gift,” he said.
In response, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) praised the decision and said it is glad to see a closer relationship with the US.
“It takes some time before a candidate country is granted visa-free privileges and the DPP would like to work with the US to achieve that goal, as well as strengthening bilateral relations as the US’ strategic partner in the Asia-Pacific region if it wins the presidential election next month,” DPP spokesperson Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) said.
The decision has been a collective effort by all Taiwanese through the years with lowered rates of overstays and visa refusals, he said.
Additional reporting by Chris Wang
FALSE DOCUMENTS? Actor William Liao said he was ‘voluntarily cooperating’ with police after a suspect was accused of helping to produce false medical certificates Police yesterday questioned at least six entertainers amid allegations of evasion of compulsory military service, with Lee Chuan (李銓), a member of boy band Choc7 (超克7), and actor Daniel Chen (陳大天) among those summoned. The New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office in January launched an investigation into a group that was allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified medical documents. Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) has been accused of being one of the group’s clients. As the investigation expanded, investigators at New Taipei City’s Yonghe Precinct said that other entertainers commissioned the group to obtain false documents. The main suspect, a man surnamed
The government is considering polices to increase rental subsidies for people living in social housing who get married and have children, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday. During an interview with the Plain Law Movement (法律白話文) podcast, Cho said that housing prices cannot be brought down overnight without affecting banks and mortgages. Therefore, the government is focusing on providing more aid for young people by taking 3 to 5 percent of urban renewal projects and zone expropriations and using that land for social housing, he said. Single people living in social housing who get married and become parents could obtain 50 percent more
DEMOGRAPHICS: Robotics is the most promising answer to looming labor woes, the long-term care system and national contingency response, an official said Taiwan is to launch a five-year plan to boost the robotics industry in a bid to address labor shortages stemming from a declining and aging population, the Executive Yuan said yesterday. The government approved the initiative, dubbed the Smart Robotics Industry Promotion Plan, via executive order, senior officials told a post-Cabinet meeting news conference in Taipei. Taiwan’s population decline would strain the economy and the nation’s ability to care for vulnerable and elderly people, said Peter Hong (洪樂文), who heads the National Science and Technology Council’s (NSTC) Department of Engineering and Technologies. Projections show that the proportion of Taiwanese 65 or older would
Democracies must remain united in the face of a shifting geopolitical landscape, former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) told the Copenhagen Democracy Summit on Tuesday, while emphasizing the importance of Taiwan’s security to the world. “Taiwan’s security is essential to regional stability and to defending democratic values amid mounting authoritarianism,” Tsai said at the annual forum in the Danish capital. Noting a “new geopolitical landscape” in which global trade and security face “uncertainty and unpredictability,” Tsai said that democracies must remain united and be more committed to building up resilience together in the face of challenges. Resilience “allows us to absorb shocks, adapt under
RSS