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.
Costa Rica sent a group of intelligence officials to Taiwan for a short-term training program, the first time the Central American country has done so since the countries ended official diplomatic relations in 2007, a Costa Rican media outlet reported last week. Five officials from the Costa Rican Directorate of Intelligence and Security last month spent 23 days in Taipei undergoing a series of training sessions focused on national security, La Nacion reported on Friday, quoting unnamed sources. The Costa Rican government has not confirmed the report. The Chinese embassy in Costa Rica protested the news, saying in a statement issued the same
Taiwan is to extend its visa-waiver program for Philippine passport holders for another year, starting on Aug. 1, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said on Friday. Lin made the announcement during a reception in Taipei marking the 127th anniversary of Philippine independence and the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) in Taiwan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The decision reflected Taiwan’s commitment to deepening exchanges with the Philippines, the statement cited Lin as saying, adding that it was a key partner under the New Southbound Policy launched in 2016. Lin also expressed hope
Temperatures in New Taipei City’s Sindian District (新店) climbed past 37°C yesterday, as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) issued heat alerts for 16 municipalities, warning the public of intense heat expected across Taiwan. The hottest location in Taiwan was in Sindian, where the mercury reached 37.5°C at about 2pm, according to CWA data. Taipei’s Shilin District (士林) recorded a temperature of 37.4°C at noon, Taitung County’s Jinfeng Township (金峰) at 12:50 pm logged a temperature of 37.4°C and Miaoli County’s Toufen Township (頭份) reached 36.7°C at 11:40am, the CWA said. The weather agency yesterday issued a yellow level information notice for Taipei, New
CASE: Prosecutors have requested heavy sentences, citing a lack of remorse and the defendants’ role in ‘undermining the country’s democratic foundations’ Five people affiliated with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), including senior staff from the party’s Taipei branch, were indicted yesterday for allegedly forging thousands of signatures to recall two Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers. Those indicted include KMT Taipei chapter director Huang Lu Chin-ru (黃呂錦茹), secretary-general Chu Wen-ching (初文卿) and secretary Yao Fu-wen (姚富文), the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said in a news release. Prosecutors said the three were responsible for fabricating 5,211 signature forms — 2,537 related to the recall of DPP Legislator Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶) and 2,674 for DPP Legislator Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) — with forged entries accounting for
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