“Taiwan” should be added to international driver’s licenses to emphasize that Taiwanese travelers are not Chinese, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers said yesterday.
DPP Legislator Michelle Lin (林楚茵) told a news conference at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei that she received complaints from members of the public about the licenses.
Travelers were misidentified as citizens of China because the name Taiwan is not on the Ministry of Transportation and Communications-issued documents, Lin said.
Photo: CNA
“The country’s passport says Taiwan on its cover and there is no reason for the international driver’s license to be different,” she said.
The ministry issued 39,828 international driver’s licenses last year, down from 190,000 in 2018 and 180,000 in 2019, she said.
The ministry would not have so many administrative problems were it to make design changes to the licenses, she said, adding: “Correct identification of the nation’s travelers will help secure their proper treatment by authorities.”
DPP Legislator Chen Su-yueh (陳素月) said the French parliament and the G7 Council of Foreign Ministers separately voiced support for Taiwan’s participation in international organizations over the past two days.
The time is right to restart the movement to rectify the country’s name on international driver’s licenses, Chen said.
“We should make it easier for the international community to identify Taiwan and know that it is different from China,” she said.
DPP Legislator Chao Tien-lin (趙天麟) said that global support for Taiwan is growing, as is the realization that Taiwan and China are different countries.
There is no obstacle in international law that prevents the ministry from putting Taiwan on driver’s licenses, which would avoid misunderstandings for Taiwanese in foreign countries, he said.
Department of Railways and Highways official Lee Chao-hsien (李昭賢) said that the ministry agrees with the proposal to change the licenses, but it must consult other government departments before taking any action.
Three batches of banana sauce imported from the Philippines were intercepted at the border after they were found to contain the banned industrial dye Orange G, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. From today through Sept. 2 next year, all seasoning sauces from the Philippines are to be subject to the FDA’s strictest border inspection, meaning 100 percent testing for illegal dyes before entry is allowed, it said in a statement. Orange G is an industrial coloring agent that is not permitted for food use in Taiwan or internationally, said Cheng Wei-chih (鄭維智), head of the FDA’s Northern Center for
The Chinese military has built landing bridge ships designed to expand its amphibious options for a potential assault on Taiwan, but their combat effectiveness is limited due to their high vulnerability, a defense expert said in an analysis published on Monday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a research fellow at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said that the deployment of such vessels as part of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy’s East Sea Fleet signals a strong focus on Taiwan. However, the ships are highly vulnerable to precision strikes, which means they could be destroyed before they achieve their intended
LOOKING NORTH: The base would enhance the military’s awareness of activities in the Bashi Channel, which China Coast Guard ships have been frequenting, an expert said The Philippine Navy on Thursday last week inaugurated a forward operating base in the country’s northern most province of Batanes, which at 185km from Taiwan would be strategically important in a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait. The Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted Northern Luzon Command Commander Lieutenant General Fernyl Buca as saying that the base in Mahatao would bolster the country’s northern defenses and response capabilities. The base is also a response to the “irregular presence this month of armed” of China Coast Guard vessels frequenting the Bashi Channel in the Luzon Strait just south of Taiwan, the paper reported, citing a
About 4.2 million tourist arrivals were recorded in the first half of this year, a 10 percent increase from the same period last year, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. The growth continues to be consistent, with the fourth quarter of this year expected to be the peak in Taiwan, the agency said, adding that it plans to promote Taiwan overseas via partnerships and major events. From January to June, 9.14 million international departures were recorded from Taiwan, an 11 percent increase from the same period last year, with 3.3 million headed for Japan, 1.52 million for China and 832,962 to South Korea,
RSS