TRAVEL
New Macau customs rules
From yesterday, visitors entering Macau with 120,000 Macau patacas (US$14,933) or more in cash or “bearer-negotiable instruments” must be declared or risk a fine, the Mainland Affairs Council said. The statement was based on Macau’s Control of Cross-Boundary Transport of Currency and Bearer Negotiable Instruments law, passed by the territory’s Legislative Council in June to combat money laundering and the financing of terrorism. Visitors carrying cash exceeding the amount must fill out a declaration form to show customs officers. Travelers who fail to do so, both upon arrival and at departure, can be fined from 1,000 to 500,000 patacas. Bearer-negotiable instruments include traveler’s checks, checks, bank drafts, payment orders and promissory notes, the council said. Gold, other precious metals and gems are excluded from the regulation, as are transiting travelers. Passengers should contact Macau’s customs services for more information, the council said.
TOURISM
Hopes high for Philippines
The Tourism Bureau this week expressed optimism about Philippine tourism, thanks to a trial program starting next month that is to offer Philippine nationals visa-free entry to Taiwan for up to 14 days. About 180,000 Philippine nationals visited Taiwan between January and August, an increase of more than 70 percent compared with the same period last year, bureau official Tsao Yi-shu (曹逸書) said. The trial program will hopefully bring even more tourists from the Philippines by the end of the year, Tsao said. The majority of Philippine travelers to Taiwan are young people, Tsao said, adding that their activities mostly involve shopping in major cities in northern Taiwan.
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
A Japan Self-Defense Forces vessel entered the Taiwan Strait yesterday, Japanese media reported. After passing through the Taiwan Strait, the Ikazuchi was to proceed to the South China Sea to take part in a joint military exercise with the US and the Philippines, the reports said. Japan Self-Defense Force vessels were first reported to have passed through the strait in September, 2024, with two further transits taking place in February and June last year, the Asahi Shimbun reported. Yesterday’s transit also marked the first time since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi took office that a Japanese warship has been sent through the Taiwan
‘SAME OLD TRICK’: Even if Beijing resumes individual travel to Taiwan, it would only benefit Chinese tourism companies, the Economic Democracy Union convener said China’s 10 new “incentives” are “sugar-coated poison,” an official said yesterday, adding that Taiwanese businesses see them clearly for what they are, but that Beijing would inevitably find some local collaborators to try to drums up support. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, made the remark ahead of a news conference the General Chamber of Commerce is to hold today. The event, titled “Industry Perspectives on China’s Recent Pro-Taiwan Policies,” is expected to include representatives from industry associations — such as those in travel, hotels, food and agriculture — to request the government cooperate with China’s new measures, people familiar with
ANOTHER OPTION: The 13-year-old, whose residency status was revoked for holding a Chinese passport, could still apply for residency on humanitarian grounds, the government said The Executive Yuan has rejected an appeal from a 13-year-old Chinese student surnamed Lu (陸), whose permanent residency was revoked after immigration officers discovered he held a Chinese passport. Lu in December 2023 applied to settle in Taiwan to be with his mother, surnamed Lin (林), who is a Taiwan resident, an appeal decision released this month by the Executive Yuan showed. Lin settled in Taiwan after marrying a Taiwanese man in 2003, but the two divorced in 2011, and after marrying a Chinese man, she had Lu, the Executive Yuan’s appeals committee said. Lu’s application was approved in December 2024, and in
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