Three Taiwanese have been denied entry to Singapore because they placed stickers advocating Taiwanese independence on their passports, which made it difficult to verify the documents’ authenticity, a Bureau of Consular Affairs official said yesterday.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has received notification that three Taiwanese were rejected entry by Singaporean immigration officers last month after arriving at Changi Airport, Passport Administration Division director Chen Shang-yu (陳尚友) said at a news briefing.
The reason given was “Taiwan passport stickers” on the documents.
The travelers called Taiwan’s representative office in Singapore for help, but Singaporean immigration officers can decide independently whether to allow entry and there was little Taiwanese officials in Singapore could do to help, Chen said.
Even though two of the travelers expressed willingness to remove the stickers, Singaporean immigration officers still denied them entry, Chen added.
The ministry said it has sent the formal format, content and design of the Republic of China passport to overseas authorities to help them verify the authenticity of the nation’s passport.
Making unauthorized changes, adding additional stamps or any other items to a passport can make it difficult for immigration officers to verify the document’s authenticity, increasing the risk of being denied entry, the ministry said.
Chen said that a passport is an official document that shows one’s identity when abroad and he urged travelers to abide by regulations on the use of passports, which forbid any unauthorized changes.
STATS: Taiwan’s average life expectancy of 80.77 years was lower than that of Japan, Singapore and South Korea, but higher than in China, Malaysia and Indonesia Taiwan’s average life expectancy last year increased to 80.77 years, but was still not back to its pre-COVID-19 pandemic peak of 81.32 years in 2020, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. The average life expectancy last year increased the 0.54 years from 2023, the ministry said in a statement. For men and women, the average life expectancy last year was 77.42 years and 84.30 years respectively, up 0.48 years and 0.56 years from the previous year. Taiwan’s average life expectancy peaked at 81.32 years in 2020, as the nation was relatively unaffected by the pandemic that year. The metric
Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. (THSRC) plans to ease strained capacity during peak hours by introducing new fare rules restricting passengers traveling without reserved seats in 2026, company Chairman Shih Che (史哲) said Wednesday. THSRC needs to tackle its capacity issue because there have been several occasions where passengers holding tickets with reserved seats did not make it onto their train in stations packed with individuals traveling without a reserved seat, Shih told reporters in a joint interview in Taipei. Non-reserved seats allow travelers maximum flexibility, but it has led to issues relating to quality of service and safety concerns, especially during
A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck Chiayi County at 4:37pm today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 36.3km southeast of Chiayi County Hall at a depth of 10.4km, CWA data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Chiayi County, Tainan and Kaohsiung on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Pingtung, Taitung, Hualien, Changhua, Nantou and Penghu counties, the data
The Supreme Court today rejected an appeal filed by former Air Force officer Shih Chun-cheng (史濬程), convicted of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) espionage, finalizing his sentence at two years and two months for contravening the National Security Act (國家安全法). His other ruling, a ten-month sentence for an additional contravention, was meanwhile overturned and sent to the Taichung branch of the High Court for retrial, the Supreme Court said today. Prosecutors have been notified as Shih is considered a flight risk. Shih was recruited by Chinese Communist Party (CCP) intelligence officials after his retirement in 2008 and appointed as a supervisor