Starting on Monday next week, Taiwan is to issue next-generation biometric passports in an effort to tighten security and prevent identity theft, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday.
Citizens will be able to apply for the upgraded passports at the Bureau of Consular Affairs in Taipei, its branch offices in Taichung, Kaohsiung, Hualien and Chiayi, or at the nation’s overseas representative offices, the ministry said in a statement.
Application fees for the new e-passports will remain the same at NT$1,300 for adults and NT$900 for children, the ministry said, adding that existing biometric and machine-readable passports will remain valid until they expire, but passport holders may apply for the new e-passport before that date.
Since the introduction of e-passports in late 2008, 166 countries, including the US, the UK, Canada and several EU nations, have granted Taiwanese passport holders visa-free entry, landing visas or similar entry privileges, the ministry said.
However, those privileges have also made Taiwanese passports a target for criminals, it added.
To keep pace with global developments and prevent identity theft, Taiwan is upgrading its e-passport to include cutting edge security measures, a third image of the passport holder and metallic surface relief, the ministry said.
The e-passports will feature a “ghost image” of the holder, which should be more difficult and expensive to duplicate, a ministry source said on condition of anonymity, as they were not authorized to discuss the issue publicly.
It is to be the first upgrade to the nation’s biometric passport since it was introduced on Dec. 29, 2008.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Many Japanese couples are coming to Taiwan to obtain donated sperm or eggs for fertility treatment due to conservatism in their home country, Taiwan’s high standards and low costs, doctors said. One in every six couples in Japan is receiving infertility treatment, Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare data show. About 70,000 children are born in Japan every year through in vitro fertilization (IVF), or about one in every 11 children born. Few people accept donated reproductive cells in Japan due to a lack of clear regulations, leaving treatment in a “gray zone,” Taichung Nuwa Fertility Center medical director Wang Huai-ling (王懷麟)
PROXIMITY: Prague is closer to Dresden than Berlin is, so Taiwanese firms are expected to take advantage of the Czech capital’s location, the Executive Yuan official said Taiwan plans to boost cooperation with the Czech Republic in semiconductor development due to Prague’s pivotal role in the European IC industry, Executive Yuan Secretary-General Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) said. With Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) building a wafer fab in the German city of Dresden, a Germany-Czech Republic-Poland “silicon triangle” is forming, Kung said in a media interview on the weekend after returning from a visit to Prague. “Prague is closer to Dresden than Berlin is, so Taiwanese firms are expected to take advantage of the Czech capital’s location,” he said. “Taiwan and Prague have already launched direct flights and it is
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