Immigration officials at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport scrambled to hand-record travel information for thousands of passengers yesterday after the National Immigration Agency (NIA) computer system crashed.
The NIA’s main and backup systems experienced sporadic malfunctions throughout the day. At press time, the system was undergoing repair and was not expected to be back online until noon today, NIA Deputy Director-General Huang Bi-hsia (黃碧霞) said.
Kaohsiung International Airport and Kinmen Airport, which mostly caters to passengers traveling to China via the three mini-links, also reported system malfunctions.
PHOTO: YAO KAI-SHIOU, TAIPEI TIMES
The NIA cited faulty computer hardware, but said the main computer system at the agency was working normally, though it was not accessible at the airport.
The hardware had been replaced and the agency would have more information about the nature of the problems once they were resolved, Huang said.
The Central News Agency reported that the NIA had recently terminated its contract with its computer system maintenance company, which was replaced on Thursday.
The report suggested that a bug could have been planted by a disgruntled individual.
All travel documents were being hand-checked by immigration officers yesterday, causing long lineups and leaving thousands of passengers frustrated. Officers wrote down passengers’ travel information, which the NIA said would be entered into the system once the computers had been fixed.
Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport opened 40 immigration windows to handle the backlog of passengers, Huang said.
Repair work began immediately after the system malfunction was discovered at 6:45am, a peak travel hour. Technicians were still battling with the problematic hardware at 2pm, Huang said.
Yesterday was a particularly busy travel day as the first working day following the four-day New Year holiday weekend.
Many passengers feared delays would prevent them from making connecting flights, but the NIA said no passengers had missed their flights because of the glitch.
Huang acknowledged the breakdown could result in a security breach, and said the NIA would not be able to ascertain whether anyone had slipped in or out of the country illegally until the system was up and running.
As of 1pm yesterday, approximately 20,000 people had exited the country through Taiwan Taoyuan International airport.
Minister of the Interior Liao Liou-yi (廖了以) and NIA Director-General Hsieh Li-kung (謝立?urveyed the situation at the airport yesterday afternoon and stayed for 20 minutes after being updated on the situation by airport officials.
One day earlier, hundreds of travelers departing from Taiwan Taoyuan airport on 11 different flights had to leave without their checked-in luggage when a conveyor belt broke down for almost two hours.
CONGRESSIONAL SUPPORT: A new committee would investigate a backlog of US weapons sales to Taiwan, said its chairman, US Representative Mike Gallagher The US should formally recognize Taiwan as an independent nation, and end its outdated and counterproductive “one China” policy, US Representative Tom Tiffany and 18 other US lawmakers wrote in a petition. “It is time to change the status quo and recognize the reality denied by the US government for decades: Taiwan is an independent nation,” Tiffany told the Epoch Times. “As our long-standing and valued partner, correctly acknowledging their independence from communist China is long overdue.” The resolution also asks the administration of US President Joe Biden to support Taiwan’s membership in international organizations and to negotiate a bilateral free-trade
The Pentagon is preparing for US House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy to visit Taiwan later this year, Punchbowl News reported on Monday, citing an official directly involved in the talks. US administration officials anticipate McCarthy would visit Taiwan some time in the spring, the report said. McCarthy had previously pledged to visit Taiwan if he became House speaker. He was elected speaker earlier this month. He had also said that he would have liked to join then-US House speaker Nancy Pelosi’s delegation when she visited Taiwan in August last year. Pelosi’s 19-hour visit to Taipei marked the first time in 25 years
Taiwan’s Chou Chieh-yu (周婕妤) was crowned the Kamui WPA Women’s World 9-Ball Champion after shutting out British pool titan Allison Fisher 9-0 in Atlantic City, New Jersey, the organizers said on Sunday. Following the championship win at Harrah’s Resort and Casino Atlantic City, Chou pocketed US$30,000 and became the first female competitor to hold both the 9-ball and 10-ball world titles since Briton Kelly Fisher in 2012. Chou, 36, won the Predator World Women’s 10-Ball Championship in Austria in September last year after clinching a silver medal at last year’s World Games in Birmingham, Alabama, in July. “I’m very excited and it’s like
JOINT OPERATIONS: Participating in the IMET program, which offers professional training and education to military personnel, would boost Taiwan’s defense capabilities The US government is appropriating funding to help Taiwan participate in its International Military Education & Training (IMET) program to enhance interoperability and capabilities for joint operations of the Taiwanse and US militaries. The funding for Taiwan’s participation in the program is mentioned in the Consolidated Appropriations Act 2023, a US$1.7 trillion spending bill funding the US federal government for the fiscal year 2023. It covers funding for military support for Ukraine, defense spending and regions affected by natural disasters. The American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) told the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) that IMET is an important US
RSS