Several lawmakers yesterday blasted China over a decision by customs officials in Macau to deny entry to a Taiwanese woman because her passport had a sticker on it that read: “Taiwan is my country.”
The Chinese-language Apple Daily reported that the woman, surnamed Su (蘇), is a dancer who arrived in Macau on Thursday last week with the rest of her dance troupe for performances there on Friday and Saturday.
The report said that after seeing the sticker on the back cover of her passport, Macau customs officials took Su into a small room for questioning, during which they allegedly told her: “You are asking for trouble by challenging China’s authority.”
Su was denied entry on the grounds that “the authenticity of [her] travel document is questionable,” causing her to face possible compensation claims from her agency due to her failure to take part in the planned performances, the report said.
In an interview with the Apple Daily, Su said she put the sticker on the back cover of her passport when she was studying abroad in 2012 and that she had no trouble entering Japan, South Korea and European nations in the past four years.
The report quoted Su as saying that in a last-ditch attempt to not let her passport jeopardize her chance of participating in the performances, she had expressed willingness to remove it.
However, the customs officials still asked her to sign an affidavit and arranged for her to be on the next available flight to Taiwan, Su was quoted as saying.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Ho Hsin-chun (何欣純) on Facebook yesterday said that the incident occurred before the new government was sworn in, on May 20, exposed China’s ugly side of being truculent and unreasonable.
“Because of this sticker, a young dancer was deported by Macau customs officials, which affected her work,” Ho said.
“I demand that the Straits Exchange Foundation lodge a protest and negotiate with China, and that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ personnel stationed in Macau also take their complaints to the Macau government and customs, to safeguard our citizens’ freedom, personal security and right to work,” Ho said.
New Power Party Legislator Freddy Lim (林昶佐) said the incident underscored China’s deliberate attempts to single out Taiwanese and make things difficult for them.
“Unless there is evidence that there have also been cases of US or Japanese citizens being denied entry when seeking to enter Hong Kong or Macau with sticker-adorned passports, it is without doubt that the policy only targets Taiwanese,” Lin said.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Eleanor Wang (王珮玲) said any unauthorized modifications made to a passport could impede its identification purpose and global credibility.
“The ministry has repeatedly cautioned our citizens about the matter. The nation’s passports currently enjoy visa-free or landing visa status in 164 countries... The public should cherish this hard-earned achievement and refrain from making any alterations to passports to safeguard their rights while traveling,” Wang said.
Wang said that as of yesterday, a total of 16 Taiwanese, including Su, had been denied entry by Macau customs officials due to stickers on their passports this year.
The incident came weeks after the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee approved a proposal to eliminate a controversial addendum to the Enforcement Rules of the Passport Act (護照條例施行細則) that bans any modifications to passports.
The ban had been perceived as targeting the pro-independence Taiwanese passport sticker movement, which encourages Taiwanese to cover the “Republic of China” seal on their passport cover with a “Republic of Taiwan” sticker.
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
Temperatures in northern Taiwan are forecast to reach as high as 30°C today, as an ongoing northeasterly seasonal wind system weakens, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said yesterday that with the seasonal wind system weakening, warmer easterly winds would boost the temperature today. Daytime temperatures in northern Taiwan and Yilan County are expected to range from 28°C to 30°C today, up about 3°C from yesterday, Tseng said. According to the CWA, temperature highs in central and southern Taiwan could stay stable. However, the weather is expected to turn cooler starting tonight as the northeasterly wind system strengthens again
Taiwan sweltered through its hottest October on record, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, the latest in a string of global temperature records. The main island endured its highest average temperature since 1950, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng said. Temperatures the world over have soared in recent years as human-induced climate change contributes to ever more erratic weather patterns. Taiwan’s average temperature was 27.381°C as of Thursday, Liu said. Liu said the average could slip 0.1°C by the end of yesterday, but it would still be higher than the previous record of 27.009°C in 2016. "The temperature only started lowering around Oct. 18 or 19
RSS