FOREIGN AFFAIRS
El Salvador visa ties cut
Visa-free treatment for El Salvador passport holders has ended after the former ally last month announced it would no longer allow Taiwanese visa exemptions, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday. The government had on July 2017 announced a reciprocal visa-free entry program with El Salvador for a stay of up to 90 days as part of efforts to build closer ties with its diplomatic allies. The two countries on Aug. 21 last year cut ties after the Central American nation switched recognition to Beijing. “We learned of the decision on El Salvador’s part to cancel the visa-free treatment to Taiwanese passport holders early last month. Based on the principle of reciprocity, we therefore decided to cancel the visa-free treatment to El Salvador’s passport holders as well, starting on Dec. 12,” Ministry deputy spokesperson Joanne Ou (歐江安) said.
SOCIETY
Five more travelers found
Another five of the 148 Vietnamese nationals who disappeared shortly after arriving last month were found on Monday, the National Immigration Agency said. As of 3:40pm, 52 of the 148 tourists had been located, the agency said. Of those found so far, 24 have been arrested and 28 surrendered to police. The agency said that 152 of the 153 people who entered Taiwan as part of four tour groups that arrived on Dec. 21 and Dec. 23 were reported “missing” after entering the country. Some of the travelers said they spent between NT$20,000 and NT$70,000 to be part of the tour groups before “disappearing” with the help of friends, Vietnamese media outlet VnExpress reported on Dec. 29. The government is offering a reward of up to NT$4,000 for information leading to the arrest of the travelers who have yet to be found.
FAST TRACK? Chinese spouses must renounce their Chinese citizenship and pledge allegiance to Taiwan to gain citizenship, some demonstrators said Opponents and supporters of a bill that would allow Chinese spouses to obtain Taiwanese citizenship in four years instead of six staged protests near the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday morning. Those who oppose the bill proposed by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) demanded that Chinese spouses be granted citizenship only after renouncing their Chinese citizenship, passing a citizenship test and pledging allegiance to Taiwan. The demonstrators, who were protesting at a side entrance to the Legislative Yuan on Jinan Road, were mostly members of the Taiwan Association of University Professors and other organizations advocating Taiwanese independence. Supporters of the bill, led
SILENT MAJORITY: Only 1 percent of Chinese rejected all options but war to annex Taiwan, while one-third viewed war as unacceptable, a university study showed Many Chinese are more concerned with developments inside their country than with seeking unification with Taiwan, al-Jazeera reported on Friday. Although China claims Taiwan as its own territory and has vowed to annex it, by force if necessary, 23-year-old Chinese Shao Hongtian was quoted by al-Jazeera as saying that “hostilities are not the way to bring China and Taiwan together.” “I want unification to happen peacefully,” Shao said. Al-Jazeera said it changed Shao’s name to respect his wish for anonymity. If peaceful unification is not possible, Shao said he would prefer “things to remain as they are,” adding that many of his friends feel
Taiwan has “absolute air superiority” over China in its own airspace, Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) told a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee on Monday, amid concern over whether Taipei could defend itself against a military incursion by Beijing. Po made the remarks in response to a question from Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chiu Chih-wei (邱志偉) on whether Taiwan would have partial or complete air superiority if Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) warplanes were to enter Taiwan’s airspace. Po, a retired pilot, said that the Taiwanese military has “absolute air superiority” over PLA
A shipment of basil pesto imported by Costco Wholesale Taiwan from the US in the middle of last month was intercepted at the border after testing positive for excessive pesticide residue, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. Samples taken from a shipment of the Kirkland Signature brand of basil pesto imported by Costco contained 0.1 milligrams per kilogram of ethylene oxide, exceeding the non-detectable limit. Ethylene oxide is a carcinogenic substance that can be used as a pesticide. The 674kg shipment of basil pesto would either be destroyed or returned to its country of origin, as is the procedure for all