The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday refuted a Taiwanese woman’s claims that her passport was temporarily confiscated by the Taipei Representative Office in the UK on Wednesday for covering the national emblem on her passport with a sticker.
The woman, surnamed Pang, posted an article on Wednesday night on a Facebook page called “Taiwanese in Europe,” saying that an official at the representative office threatened to seize her passport if she refused to remove a sticker on the cover of her passport.
“I just went to the Taipei Representative Office in the UK to apply for the authentication of my marriage certificate. I was asked to tear the sticker covering the ‘party emblem’ [of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT)]’ — which the official said is our national emblem — off my passport, or my application would be denied,” Pang said.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei
Both the emblems of the Republic of China (ROC) and the KMT feature a white sun on a blue background. The difference is that the rays of the sun on the KMT party emblem are longer than those on the ROC emblem.
Refusing to comply, Pang said she told the official that it did not matter if her marriage was also recognized in Taiwan and that she wanted to revoke her application.
“Then the official dangled my passport in front of me, saying he could not give back my passport if I did not remove the sticker,” Pang said.
Pang’s message quickly galvanized a heated debate on the Internet. Some netizens questioned the legitimacy of the official’s alleged actions, while others said the incident served as proof that the White Terror era was far from over.
The designer of the “Republic of Taiwan” sticker, who identified himself as Lao Tan (老丹), urged the ministry to explain why a public servant has the mandate to confiscate a passport.
“Even if the official returned the passport to the woman in the end, such a douche bag public servant deserves to be disciplined,” Lao Tan said.
The ministry issued a statement yesterday saying the representative office only explained to Pang Taiwan’s ban on alterations or stickers on passports and asked her to remove the sticker to safeguard the nation’s dignity and official state name.
“The citizen contended that what the sticker covered was the [KMT’s] party emblem,” the ministry said.
“The official later returned the passport to the woman, but asked her to tear off the sticker. He also witnessed her signing a Chinese-language translation of her marriage certificate before issuing her a receipt,” it said.
The ministry said the woman’s account of what happened was untrue, adding that according to the law, representative offices can only advise people to remove stickers on their passports and do not have the authority to confiscate travel documents.
The ministry proposed an addendum to the Enforcement Rules of the Passport Act (護照條例施行細則) in November last year, which took effect in January, banning any modifications of the nation’s passport design.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
The age requirement for commercial pilots and airline transport pilots is to be lowered by two years, to 18 and 21 years respectively, to expand the pool of pilots in accordance with international standards, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications announced today. The changes are part of amendments to articles 93, 119 and 121 of the Regulations Governing Licenses and Ratings for Airmen (航空人員檢定給證管理規則). The amendments take into account age requirements for aviation personnel certification in the Convention on International Civil Aviation and EU’s aviation safety regulations, as well as the practical needs of managing aviation personnel licensing, the ministry said. The ministry
RSS