US travelers transiting through Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are to be exempt from having their checked baggage screened after the two nations exchanged letters of intent on one-stop security cooperation, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said in a statement yesterday.
The letters were exchanged by American Institute of Taiwan (AIT) Washington Trade and Commercial Programs Director Rick Ruzicka and Deputy Representative to the US Louis Huang (黃敏境) at a ceremony at the AIT’s headquarters in Washington on Tuesday.
The event was witnessed by Deputy Minister of Transportation and Communications Huang Yu-lin (黃玉霖) and US Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Executive Adviser to the US Department of State Eric Sarandrea.
Photo courtesy of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US
The exchange of letters of intent would facilitate flight transfers for US travelers and greatly enhance Taoyuan airport’s efficiency in serving transit passengers, the ministry said, adding that it is also a milestone in aviation security cooperation between the two nations.
TSA and Civil Aeronautics Administration officials have since March last year been cooperating to implement a one-stop security program for people transiting at Taoyuan from San Francisco International Airport or Seattle-Tacoma International Airport to exempt passengers’ checked baggage from screening.
Since the policy produced great results, the agencies began to discuss the possibility of including travelers from other US airports in the program, the ministry said.
Prior to the exchange ceremony, Louis Huang and AIT Washington Managing Director John Norris had signed an agreement on the expansion of the one-stop security program, it added.
The nation is also seeking to participate in the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) preclearance project, the ministry said, adding that it would soon file an application to enter the project and conduct negotiations with US officials after CBP makes public the application procedures and criteria.
If Taoyuan airport is listed as a preclearance location, it would benefit anyone traveling from Taoyuan to the US or transiting through the nation, as they would not need to undergo a second CBP inspection upon arrival in the US, the ministry said, adding that this would help the travel industries in both nations.
Currently, Taiwanese traveling to or transiting through the US must have all of their luggage inspected at their airport of first entry before proceeding to their final destination.
The preclearance project excludes cargo shipments and focuses solely on passenger processing, which includes anything a traveler owns and is bringing with them to the US, such as their luggage, clothing, souvenirs, currency or other personal effects, according to the CBP Web site.
NETWORK-MAPPING PROJECT: The database contains 170 detailed files of Taiwanese politicians and about 23 million records of household registration data in Taiwan China has developed a network-mapping project targeting political figures and parties in Taiwan to monitor public opinion during elections and to craft tailored influence campaigns aimed at dividing Taiwanese society, according to documents leaked by Chinese technology firm GoLaxy (中科天璣). The documents, collected by Taipei-based Doublethink Lab, showed a database was specifically created to gather detailed information on Taiwanese political figures, including their political affiliations, job histories, birthplaces, residences, education, religion and a brief biography about them. Several notable Taiwanese politicians are in the database, including President William Lai (賴清德), former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍),
RECOGNITION: Former Fijian prime minister Mahendra Chaudhry said that Taiwan’s New Southbound Policy serves as a stabilizing force in the Indo-Pacific region Taiwan can lead the unification of the Chinese people, Nobel Peace Prize laureate and former Polish president Lech Walesa said in Taipei yesterday, adding that as the world order is changing, peaceful discussion would find good solutions, and that the use of force and coercion would always fail. Walesa made the remarks during his keynote address at a luncheon of the Yushan Forum in Taipei, titled “Indo-Pacific Partnership Prospects: Taiwan’s Values, Technology and Resilience,” organized by the Taiwan-Asia Exchange Foundation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Walesa said that he had been at the forefront of a big peaceful revolution and “if
UPGRADED MISSILE: The Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology is reportedly to conduct a live-fire test of the Hsiung Feng III anti-ship missile on Thursday next week The US Army is planning to build new facilities to boost explosives production and strengthen its supply chain, a move aimed at addressing munitions shortages and supporting obligations to partners including Taiwan, Ukraine and Israel, Defense News reported. The army has issued a sources sought notice for a proposed Center of Excellence at the Blue Grass Army Depot in Kentucky, the report said. The facility would serve as a hub within the US industrial base for the production of key military explosives, including research department explosives (RDX) and high melting explosives (HMX), while also supporting research and development of next-generation materials. The proposed
SOUTH KOREA DISPUTE: If Seoul continues to ignore its request, Taiwan would change South Korea’s designation on its arrival cards, the foreign ministry said If South Korea does not reply appropriately to a request to correct Taiwan’s name on its e-Arrival card system before March 31, the government would take corresponding measures to change how South Korea is labeled on the online Taiwan Arrival Card system, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday. South Korea’s e-Arrival card system lists Taiwan as “China (Taiwan)” in the “point of departure” and “next destination” fields. Taipei has asked Seoul to change the wording. Since March 1, South Koreans who hold government-issued Alien Resident Certificates (ARC) have been identified as from “South Korea” rather than the “Republic of Korea,” the
RSS