Seven US senators on Thursday introduced a bill to require a report on establishing a US Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) preclearance facility at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport to expedite travel to the US.
US Senator Josh Hawley introduced the Taiwan Preclearance Act with US senators John Cornyn, Rick Scott, Tommy Tuberville, Mike Braun, Thom Tillis and Cindy Hyde-Smith, all from the Republican Party, as cosponsors.
US House Representative Kat Cammack is introducing companion legislation in the US House of Representatives.
Photo: Bloomberg
The Senate bill would require the secretary of homeland security to submit a report 180 days after the enactment of the act to describe the plan and analyze the feasibility and advisability for the establishment of the program.
The US Department of Homeland Security would also need to assess the effects such a program would have on Taiwan-US trade, the US tourism industry, potential market access to the Indo-Pacific region and collaboration between governments in Taiwan.
A preclearance program at Taoyuan airport would signal Taiwan’s importance to the US and compliance with international aviation rules, the bill says.
“Taiwan is a leading democracy, a vital partner of the United States, and the perfect place for America’s first preclearance facility in the Indo-Pacific,” Hawley said in a statement, adding that the act would strengthen Taiwan-US relations and help maintain a free and open Indo-Pacific region.
By conducting immigration and customs screening at the point of departure, “a preclearance facility in Taiwan would facilitate travel in a major transit point in Asia and help the US prevent inadmissible travelers before they even board the plane,” Tuberville said.
Braun added that Taiwan is an excellent choice for the next CBP program, which would bolster the Taiwan-US alliance through trade, tourism and business.
All of the preclearance facilities abroad are located in North America, the Caribbean, Europe and the Middle East, including Aruba, the Bahamas, Bermuda, Canada, Ireland and the United Arab Emirates, with more than 600 officers stationed at 16 locations, according to the CBP Web site.
In 2012, Taiwan was added to the US Visa Waiver Program, which allows Taiwanese passport holders to enter and remain in the US for up to 90 days without a prior visa application.
In 2017, Taiwan became eligible for the US’ Global Entry Program, which expedites customs clearance.
‘SUSPENDED’: The restrictions are likely to have a greater effect on seafood producers, as exports of food and drinks to China had already decline due to the COVID-19 pandemic China’s customs administration late on Monday announced bans on more than 100 Taiwanese food brands ahead of a visit by US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan. Beijing said that the blacklisted exporters — which include tea, honey and seafood producers — failed to renew their export registration and could therefore only sell their products until the end of this month. The exporters may submit additional documents this month, Food and Drug Administration Director Wu Shou-mei (吳秀梅) said, adding that the agency would help them complete their registrations. The bans might be politically motivated, as Taiwanese manufacturers were treated differently than
MISSILE PATHS: Certain information on the Chinese missile fire was not disclosed to maintain secrecy over military intelligence-gathering capabilities, the MND said Military experts yesterday speculated on the implication of the government’s tight-lipped response and the lack of air-raid sirens during the first day of China’s military drills the previous day. On Thursday, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) launched 11 Dongfeng-series ballistic missiles into waters north, east and south of Taiwan, a day after US House of Representative Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s departure from the country, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said. The Japanese Ministry of Defense said that China fired nine missiles toward Taiwan, including four that flew over Taiwan proper. However, China’s exhibition of force failed to terrorize the local populace, because
DIVIDE AND CONQUER: Instead of using positive propaganda about China to attract Taiwanese, the CCP is now focusing on negative hype about Taiwan, a researcher said China has changed tactics in its cognitive warfare campaign against Taiwan, now favoring divisive negative stories about Taiwanese society, rather than positive stories about China, an Academia Sinica researcher wrote in a recently published paper. “In the past, when its economy was strong, China liked to use positive propaganda, including proposing a number of incentives and measures to attract Taiwanese,” Hung Tzu-wei (洪子偉), an associate research fellow at the academy’s Institute of European and American Studies, said on Friday. However, with its economy disrupted by the US-China trade war, the COVID-19 pandemic and other factors, China has gradually turned toward “mobilizing
Legislators across party lines yesterday welcomed US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan, marking the first time in 25 years that an incumbent US House speaker has visited the nation. Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Hsu Chih-chieh (許智傑) cited the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) support for Pelosi’s visit — including from senior party members KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) and former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) — as evidence that President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) foreign diplomacy is on the right course. Pelosi’s visit has special meaning for Taiwan and the Indo-Pacific region as a whole, DPP Legislator Wang Ting-yu (王定宇) said. The
RSS