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.
A strong continental cold air mass is to bring pollutants to Taiwan from tomorrow, the Ministry of Environment said today, as it issued an “orange” air quality alert for most of the country. All of Taiwan except for Hualien and Taitung counties is to be under an “orange” air quality alert tomorrow, indicating air quality that is unhealthy for sensitive groups. In China, areas from Shandong to Shanghai have been enveloped in haze since Saturday, the ministry said in a news release. Yesterday, hourly concentrations of PM2.5 in these areas ranged from 65 to 160 micrograms per cubic meter (mg/m³), and pollutants were
Taiwan’s armed forces have established response protocols for a wide range of sudden contingencies, including the “Wan Chun Plan” to protect the head of state, the Ministry of Defense (MND) said today. After US President Donald Trump on Saturday launched a series of airstrikes in Venezuela and kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, concerns have been raised as to whether China would launch a similar “decapitation strike” on Taiwan. The armed forces regularly coordinate with relevant agencies and practice drills to ensure preparedness for a wide range of scenarios, Vice Minister of National Defense Hsu Szu-chien (徐斯儉) told reporters before a
EVA Airways on Saturday said that it had suspended a pilot and opened an investigation after he allegedly lost his temper and punched the first officer several times as their plane was taxiing before takeoff at Los Angeles International Airport. According to a report published on Thursday by The Reporter, the incident occurred after the flight’s Malaysian first officer tried to warn the Taiwanese pilot, surnamed Wen (文), that he was taxiing faster than the speed limit of 30 knots (55.6kph). After alerting the pilot several times without response, the first officer manually applied the brakes in accordance with standard operating
NOT AN OPENING: Trump’s violation of international law does not affect China’s consideration in attacking Taiwan; Beijing lacks capability, not precedent, an official said Taiwanese officials see the US’ capture of the president of Venezuela as a powerful deterrent to Beijing’s aggression and a timely reminder of the US’ ability to defeat militaries equipped with Chinese-made weapons. The strikes that toppled Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro signaled to authoritarian leaders, including Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), US President Donald Trump’s willingness to use military might for international affairs core to US interests, one senior official in Taipei’s security circle said. That reassured Taiwan, the person said. Taipei has also dismissed the idea that Trump’s apparent violation of international law could embolden Beijing, said the official, who was not
RSS