The Travel Agent Association of Taiwan yesterday threatened to boycott tours to Thailand if the Thailand Trade and Economic Office (TTEO) in Taipei insists on implementing a new policy requiring online tourist visa applicants to submit a financial statement.
The new policy, which took effect on Sunday, applies to Taiwan, China, Britain and France, TTEO said last week, adding that it chose Taiwan to first implement the procedure, because it is a world leader in information technology.
However, travelers and travel agents in Taiwan have said that the policy is disrespectful of Taiwanese tourists, and the government has humiliated the nation by agreeing to the arrangement.
Association chairman Hsiao Po-jen (蕭博仁) said that he had heard that TTEO would temporarily halt the implementation of the policy and make an announcement about it yesterday.
However, not only did the office not make such an announcement, it said that it would implement the policy as planned, Hsiao said.
“This policy was decided by the TTEO itself for its own convenience. Nearly 700,000 Taiwanese tourists travel to Thailand each year. Why do they still need to enclose a financial statement when they apply for visas? Taiwan is not a third-world country. The policy is just ridiculous,” he said.
The government has waived the visa requirement for Thai tourists to encourage more to travel to Taiwan, but it allowed the Thai government to impose restrictions that hinder Taiwanese tourists from easily traveling to Thailand, he said, adding that he would visit the TTEO today to speak up for the travel agents.
“If the office’s mind is set on mistreating Taiwanese tourists by enforcing the policy, I would write to travel agents across the nation, asking them to stop organizing tours to Thailand,” Hsiao said.
Hsiao also said he blamed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for being weak and believing that the matter is not under its purview.
The ministry should halt its visa-waiver program for Thai tourists, he added.
Many people have complained that they cannot access the new online visa-application system, Twins Tour general manager Wu De-lun (吳德倫) said, adding that people would find it even more unacceptable if they have to present their financial statement when they apply for a visa.
This was not the first time TTEO has come under criticism from local travel agencies for enforcing unpopular policies.
Last year, the association protested the office’s proposed NT$470 visa fee increase and threatened to stop sending tourists to Thailand, which eventually caused the office to drop the idea.
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai
Four China Coast Guard ships briefly sailed through prohibited waters near Kinmen County, Taipei said, urging Beijing to stop actions that endanger navigation safety. The Chinese ships entered waters south of Kinmen, 5km from the Chinese city of Xiamen, at about 3:30pm on Monday, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement later the same day. The ships “sailed out of our prohibited and restricted waters” about an hour later, the agency said, urging Beijing to immediately stop “behavior that endangers navigation safety.” Ministry of National Defense spokesman Sun Li-fang (孫立方) yesterday told reporters that Taiwan would boost support to the Coast Guard