China’s new temporary passport replacement that it yesterday announced would be made available to Taiwanese allows visa-free travel to fewer than half the nations that accept a Taiwanese passport, an academic said yesterday.
China’s Taiwan Affairs Office announced 26 new measures to facilitate “cross-strait economic and cultural exchanges,” one of which is to provide consular services to Taiwanese through China’s embassies and consulates.
The measures are part of China’s “united front” efforts to unify China and Taiwan, and to “mainlandize” Taiwanese, Providence University Department of Tourism associate professor Huang Cheng-tsung (黃正聰) said.
The “travel document” is less useful than a Taiwanese passport, Huang said, adding that it comes with the risk of handing personal information over to the Chinese Communist Party.
That information could be leveraged by Beijing as part of its “united front” efforts, he said.
A Taiwanese applying for an identification document intended for People’s Republic of China citizens might also be putting their Republic of China citizenship at risk, a situation the Mainland Affairs Council has warned about, Chung Hsing Travel Service chairman Lee Chi-yueh (李奇嶽) said.
China has introduced the measure ahead of the winter travel season, as there might be Taiwanese travelers abroad in need of emergency consular services or travel documents, Lee said, adding that there are far more Chinese embassies and consulates than Taiwanese overseas representative offices.
“There have been cases in the past of Taiwanese seeking assistance from Chinese embassies,” Lee said, citing a coup in Egypt in 2013 when Taiwanese left the nation via Chinese aircraft to Beijing, where they transferred to Taiwan.
Taiwanese can apply for the travel document if they want to travel to a nation where Taiwanese generally have trouble obtaining visas, or if they have lost their passport, he said.
When Taiwanese want to travel to Russia or Central Asian nations, they first have to visit China, obtain a travel document and then continue on their journey, he said, adding that this was much faster than applying directly to those nations for visas.
If a Taiwanese loses their passport while in one of those nations they would be able to save time and money by obtaining a travel document from the Chinese embassy, Lee said.
Additional reporting by CNA
A Taipei veterinarian is urging pet owners to avoid using insecticides around their homes, as their ingredients can be toxic to pets. Commercial-grade insecticides contain pyrethroids — organic compounds similar to natural pyrethrins, pesticides produced by flowers such as chrysanthemums — in quantities that are harmless to humans, but potentially fatal to cats and dogs, Asian Veterinary Specialist Referral Center veterinarian Chua Man-ling (蔡曼琳) said. Even in small quantities, pyrethroids are hazardous to cats, as they lack the metabolic enzymes needed to process them, Chua said. Cockroach sprays and ant traps are especially dangerous to pets as they contain boric acid, she
DOING ENOUGH? The HPA budgets NT$1.3 billion to prevent the health hazards of tobacco, but has no separate budget to fight teen drinking, a doctor said The government should step up alcohol education and prevention efforts, and allocate more of the budget to it, doctors said on Friday, citing the high consumption of alcohol among Taiwanese adolescents. One out of four 12-to-17-year-olds has consumed alcohol, said Yen Tsung-hai (顏宗海), director of Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital’s Department of Clinical Toxicology. The Health Promotion Administration (HPA) budgets NT$1.3 billion (US$43.9 million) annually to prevent the health hazards of tobacco, but it has not allocated a separate budget for preventing teenage drinking or excessive alcohol use, Yen said. “There is no so-called ‘safe drinking level’ for minors,” because any amount consumed
The Fancy Frontier manga and anime expo held in Taipei over the weekend has sparked controversy, after a participant allegedly contravened the Act on Offenses Against Sexual Morality (妨害風化罪) by publicly exposing her private parts during a photo shoot. The two-day event opened at the Expo Dome at the Taipei Expo Park on Saturday, attracting numerous comic and anime creators, cosplayers, photographers and fans. Allegedly, a female cosplayer who was not wearing any underwear lifted up her skirt and revealed her private parts at an outdoor photography area near the venue. Event organizers said yesterday that to prevent indecent exposure, they have since
DREAMING OF TRAVEL: About 7,000 people applied for the experience, with about 60 chosen for the first flight yesterday, which includes boarding an airplane Starved of the travel experience during COVID-19? Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) has the solution — a fake itinerary where you check in, go through passport control and security, and even board the aircraft. You just never leave. The airport yesterday began offering travelers the chance to do just that, with about 60 people eager to get going, albeit to nowhere. About 7,000 people applied to take part, with the winners chosen by random. More fake flight experiences are to take place in the coming weeks. “I really want to leave the country, but because of the pandemic, lots of flights cannot fly,”
RSS