The Economic Democracy Union yesterday accused travel agency ezTravel of maintaining ties to Chinese government agencies and receiving funding from Beijing in exchange for leaking customer data.
EzTravel is effectively controlled by Singapore-based Trip.com, union secretary-general Chiang Min-yen (江旻諺) told a news conference at the Legislative Yuan.
“While all nine members on Trip.com’s board of directors are Chinese, two of them also serves as consultative members to the Chinese Communist Party,” Chiang said, adding that Eztravel’s ties to Trip.com might contravene Taiwanese law.
Photo: CNA
Three members on ezTravel’s board of directors are Chinese, he said, adding that “they would probably pass on personal information of Taiwanese travelers to the Chinese government, if Beijing demands it.”
Although it might not be clear if ezTravel or its board members contravene the law, it is worrying that the company disregards Taiwanese rights to privacy, Taiwan Statebuilding Party Legislator Chen Po-wei (陳柏惟) said, adding that the Tourism Bureau should lead an investigation into the company and who controls it.
As ezTravel is registered in Taipei, the city government should inform the public if it had knowledge of Chinese influence on the company, Taipei City Councilor Miao Po-ya (苗博雅) said, adding that the city should consider revoking its business license.
EzTravel chairman Chen Fu-yen (陳甫彥) refuted the allegations, saying that none of the three foreign members on the company’s board are Chinese.
Chiang and lawmakers said that the three board members might be Chinese nationals who have obtained naturalized citizenship in other countries for the purpose of doing business in Taiwan.
Eight Chinese naval vessels and 24 military aircraft were detected crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait between 6am yesterday and 6am today, the Ministry of National Defense said this morning. The aircraft entered Taiwan’s northern, central, southwestern and eastern air defense identification zones, the ministry said. The armed forces responded with mission aircraft, naval vessels and shore-based missile systems to closely monitor the situation, it added. Eight naval vessels, one official ship and 36 aircraft sorties were spotted in total, the ministry said.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) today said that if South Korea does not reply appropriately to its request to correct Taiwan’s name on its e-Arrival card system before March 31, it would take corresponding measures to alter how South Korea is labeled on the online Taiwan Arrival Card system. South Korea’s e-Arrival card system lists Taiwan as “China (Taiwan)” in the “point of departure” and “next destination” fields. The ministry said that it changed the nationality for South Koreans on Taiwan’s Alien Resident Certificates from “Korea” to “South Korea” on March 1, in a gesture of goodwill and based on the
Taiwanese officials were shown the first of 66 F-16V fighter jets purchased by Taiwan from the United States, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday, adding the aircraft has completed an initial flight test and is expected to be delivered later this year. A delegation led by Deputy Minister of National Defense Hsu Szu-chien (徐斯儉) visited Lockheed Martin’s F-16 C/D Block 70 (also known as F-16V) assembly line in South Carolina on March 16 to view the aircraft. The jet will undergo a final acceptance flight in the US before being delivered to Taiwan, the
The New Taipei Metro's Sanyin Line and the eastern extension of the Taipei Metro's Tamsui-Xinyi Line (Red Line) are scheduled to begin operations in June, the National Development Council said today. The Red Line, which terminates at Xiangshan Station, would be connected by the 1.4km extension to a new eastern terminal, Guangci/Fengtian Temple Station, while the Sanyin Line would link New Taipei City's Tucheng and Yingge stations via Sanxia District (三峽). The council gave the updates at a council meeting reviewing progress on public construction projects for this year. Taiwan's annual public infrastructure budget would remain at NT$800 billion (US$25.08 billion), with NT$97.3
RSS