A Control Yuan report released on Friday urged the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the National Immigration Agency, the National Police Agency and others to respond to concerns regarding national security and public safety caused by the government’s plans to grant visa-free entry to nationals of more countries.
The research report, initiated by Control Yuan members Chen Hsiao-hung (陳小紅) and Bau Tzong-ho (包宗和), said the government has been researching and drafting a plan to grant visa-free entry to the nationals of 11 Latin American and Caribbean allies, as well as countries targeted in the New Southbound Policy and six South Pacific allies.
Since the policy has been proposed, illegal activities — including drug dealing, smuggling, prostitution and other crimes — by nationals of several foreign countries has already raised national security and public safety concerns, the report said.
Promoting diplomatic relations and boosting tourism are positive goals, and the visa-free entry program will support the government’s New Southbound Policy, the report said.
However, the foreign ministry should also take into account other factors beyond political considerations, it said.
The report urged the ministry to perform an detailed assessment of the effects of the policy, including its realistic economic effectiveness in terms of boosting tourism, its effects on border security and other consequences.
It also encouraged the ministry to take into consideration professional advice and statistics provided by related agencies.
If the effects can be expected to be negative overall and the selected countries do not move to grant Taiwan reciprocal treatment, the ministry should immediately end or shorten the period of the trial to preserve Taiwan’s national dignity, the report added.
In the case of Thailand, 157 Thai nationals have been arrested for crimes in Taiwan since the trial visa-free entry program was rolled out for Thailand and Brunei in August last year, according to the report.
The National Police Agency organizes criminal cases by nationality, but it does not do the same for prostitution and other violations of the Social Order Maintenance Act (社會秩序維護法), the Control Yuan members said.
The government could establishment a “big data” database to better organize and analyze criminal activity, manage the source of criminal activities more strictly or establish a penalty system for foreigners.
These measures should be taken as soon as possible, they said, adding that if such policies proved ineffective, visa-free privileges should be readjusted immediately.
The countries that are being granted visa-free entry in accordance with the government’s New Southbound Policy are also the main countries from which Taiwan is recruiting foreign workers, the Control Yuan members said, expressing concern that cases of missing workers, illegal employment and visa overstays could worsen after visa-free entry is granted.
They also asked whether it would be more difficult to control criminal activities by foreign nationals if more visitors were to enter the country through the visa-free entry program.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck off Tainan at 11:47am today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 32.3km northeast of Tainan City Hall at a depth of 7.3km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Tainan and Chiayi County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and County, and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Kaohsiung, Nantou County, Changhua County, Taitung County and offshore Penghu County, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
RSS