The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) is planning to adopt "biometric passports" -- also known as "e-passports" -- as early as next year. These passports, which contain a chip with an individual's bio data, would facilitate identification.
Vice Minister Yang Tzu-pao (楊子葆) yesterday said the ministry's Bureau of Consular Affairs was preparing to phase in the new passport to replace the old one, but added that the project was still in the development stage.
Catching up
"For anti-terrorism purposes, many countries have adopted e-passports and if we don't want to lag too far behind, we'll need to develop one, too," Yang said yesterday at the foreign affairs committee.
"However, because of privacy issues and other technicalities, we are still studying the feasibility of such a project," he added.
As for implementation, Yang said the new passport could be introduced sometime next year at the earliest but that the ministry would take Taiwanese reactions into consideration and work with the executive branches.
Conditions
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Justin Chou (
He said, however, that the ministry would have to ensure that no personal information would be leaked and will also have to develop anti counterfeiting measures.
He added that the KMT would not take the amendment to the Passport Statute (
In response, MOFA spokesman David Wang (
Limits
"The chips embedded in the e-passports will not include a person's fingerprints or an iris scan. Only the passport holders' photo will be contained, and this will be for facial recognition," Wang said.
So far, 35 countries have adopted the e-passport. Using this type of passport would help combat counterfeiting, Wang added.
AGING: While Japan has 22 submarines, Taiwan only operates four, two of which were commissioned by the US in 1945 and 1946, and transferred to Taiwan in 1973 Taiwan would need at least 12 submarines to reach modern fleet capabilities, CSBC Corp, Taiwan chairman Chen Cheng-hung (陳政宏) said in an interview broadcast on Friday, citing a US assessment. CSBC is testing the nation’s first indigenous defense submarine, the Hai Kun (海鯤, Narwhal), which is scheduled to be delivered to the navy next month or in July. The Hai Kun has completed torpedo-firing tests and is scheduled to undergo overnight sea trials, Chen said on an SET TV military affairs program. Taiwan would require at least 12 submarines to establish a modern submarine force after assessing the nation’s operational environment and defense
A white king snake that frightened passengers and caused a stir on a Taipei MRT train on Friday evening has been claimed by its owner, who would be fined, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC) said yesterday. A person on Threads posted that he thought he was lucky to find an empty row of seats on Friday after boarding a train on the Bannan (Blue) Line, only to spot a white snake with black stripes after sitting down. Startled, he jumped up, he wrote, describing the encounter as “terrifying.” “Taipei’s rat control plan: Release snakes on the metro,” one person wrote in reply, referring
The coast guard today said that it had disrupted "illegal" operations by a Chinese research ship in waters close to the nation and driven it away, part of what Taipei sees a provocative pattern of China's stepped up maritime activities. The coast guard said that it on Thursday last week detected the Chinese ship Tongji (同濟號), which was commissioned only last year, 29 nautical miles (54km) southeast of the southern tip of Taiwan, although just outside restricted waters. The ship was observed lowering ropes into the water, suspected to be the deployment of scientific instruments for "illegal" survey operations, and the coast
Yangmingshan National Park authorities yesterday urged visitors to respect public spaces and obey the law after a couple was caught on a camera livestream having sex at the park’s Qingtiangang (擎天崗) earlier in the day. The Shilin Police Precinct in Taipei said it has identified a suspect and his vehicle registration number, and would summon him for questioning. The case would be handled in accordance with public indecency charges, it added. The couple entered the park at about 11pm on Thursday and began fooling around by 1am yesterday, the police said, adding that the two were unaware of the park’s all-day live
RSS