Paraguay could soon grant Taiwanese tourists visa-waiver privileges, a visiting Paraguayan official said in Taipei yesterday.
Cesar Aquino, executive secretary of the National Anti-Drug Secretariat of Paraguay, said Paraguayan President Fernando Armindo Lugo Mendez had told him before the trip that he would soon agree to grant visa-free privileges to visitors holding Republic of China (ROC) passports.
Aquino said Lugo also told him he would make immediate arrangements to visit Taiwan as soon as he receives an invitation.
PHOTO: CNA
Aquino made the remarks during a morning meeting with President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) at the Presidential Office.
Ma said that he welcomed the -possibility of Lugo’s visit and the visa-waiver program on behalf of the ROC government and the nation’s people.
Ma said he hoped to see more than 100 countries offer visa exemptions or landing visas to Taiwanese visitors next year when the ROC celebrates the 100th anniversary of its founding.
Earlier last week, the Council of the EU agreed to add Taiwan to the list of visa-waiver countries proposed by the European Commission for Home Affairs in June. The policy is expected to officially come into force in the middle of next month.
The decision means holders of ROC passports will no longer require a visa when traveling to 35 countries and territories in Europe, dubbed the Schengen Area, for up to 90 days.
This includes EU member states, excluding the UK and Ireland, which granted visa-free entry to Taiwanese last year, as well as Andorra, Liechtenstein, Morocco, San Marino, the Vatican, Greenland and the Faroe Islands — both exempted territories of Denmark — and non-EU member states -Iceland, Norway and Switzerland.
On combatting drugs, Aquino said Paraguayan police had joined forces with their Brazilian counterparts to crack down on marijuana planted along borders and -stopping drug traffickers from using Paraguay as a transit stop for composite drugs.
Ma, who served as justice minister between 1993 and 1996, said he attached great importance to combatting drugs.
During his stint as justice minister, Ma said he declared a “war on drugs” and successfully reduced drug-related crimes and the population of young people using drugs. He attributed the success to a three-prong approach that comprised cracking down on drugs, encouraging young people to refuse drugs and helping drug addicts kick the habit.
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck off the coast of Hualien County in eastern Taiwan at 7pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter of the temblor was at sea, about 69.9km south of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 30.9km, it said. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake’s intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County’s Changbin Township (長濱), where it measured 5 on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 4 in Hualien, Nantou, Chiayi, Yunlin, Changhua and Miaoli counties, as well as
Credit departments of farmers’ and fishers’ associations blocked a total of more than NT$180 million (US$6.01 million) from being lost to scams last year, National Police Agency (NPA) data showed. The Agricultural Finance Agency (AFA) said last week that staff of farmers’ and fishers’ associations’ credit departments are required to implement fraud prevention measures when they serve clients at the counter. They would ask clients about personal financial management activities whenever they suspect there might be a fraud situation, and would immediately report the incident to local authorities, which would send police officers to the site to help, it said. NPA data showed
ENERGY RESILIENCE: Although Alaska is open for investments, Taiwan is sourcing its gas from the Middle East, and the sea routes carry risks, Ho Cheng-hui said US government officials’ high-profile reception of a Taiwanese representative at the Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference indicated the emergence of an Indo-Pacific energy resilience alliance, an academic said. Presidential Office Secretary-General Pan Men-an (潘孟安) attended the conference in Alaska on Thursday last week at the invitation of the US government. Pan visited oil and gas facilities with senior US officials, including US Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy and US Senator Daniel Sullivan. Pan attending the conference on behalf of President William Lai (賴清德) shows a significant elevation in diplomatic representation,
The Taipei MRT is to begin accepting mobile payment services in the fall, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp said on Saturday. When the company finishes the installation of new payment units at ticketing gates in October, MRT passengers can use credit cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay, the operator said. In addition, the MRT would also provide QR payment codes — which would be compatible with Line Pay, Jkopay, iPass Money, PXPay Plus, EasyWallet, iCash Pay, Taiwan Pay and Taishin Pay — to access the railway system. Currently, passengers can access the Taipei MRT by buying a single-journey token or using EasyCard,
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