Taiwan will demand an apology from the Philippine government if Taiwan nationals are found to have been discriminated against when applying for visas to the Southeast Asian country, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday.
"We have asked the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) [in Taipei] to give us a written explanation concerning this whole matter as soon as possible," said MOFA spokeswoman Katharine Chang (張小月).
"If it is true that the Philippine government has been discriminating against Taiwanese applying for visas, we will protest and demand an apology," she added.
Chang was responding to remarks made by KMT Legislator Yang Li-huan (楊麗環).
According to Yang, Taiwanese applying for a Philippine visa who are 65 or over have been asked by officials to sign an affidavit confirming that they are in good physical health and told to pay NT$300 on top of the regular visa processing fee.
Yang claimed that the alleged practice was an obvious act of discrimination against Taiwanese as such measures were only applied to Taiwanese applicants.
MOFA probed into the issue earlier this week by contacting MECO to understand the issue better, said Chang.
Chang said that the visa office had informed the ministry on Friday that it had decided that Taiwanese applicants who are 65 and above would no longer need to supply additional documents on their physical condition, starting from Dec. 1.
The ministry is still awaiting an official written reply from the Philippine visa office on whether such discrimination was indeed directed at Taiwan nationals, said Chang.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Many Japanese couples are coming to Taiwan to obtain donated sperm or eggs for fertility treatment due to conservatism in their home country, Taiwan’s high standards and low costs, doctors said. One in every six couples in Japan is receiving infertility treatment, Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare data show. About 70,000 children are born in Japan every year through in vitro fertilization (IVF), or about one in every 11 children born. Few people accept donated reproductive cells in Japan due to a lack of clear regulations, leaving treatment in a “gray zone,” Taichung Nuwa Fertility Center medical director Wang Huai-ling (王懷麟)
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