With inclusion in the U.S. Visa Waiver Program now official, people from Taiwan will be able to travel to the U.S. on tourism or business for up to 90 days without a visa, and the U.S. will become the 129th country or region giving ROC passport holders visa-free entry or landing visas. For Taipei and Washington, this is a mutually beneficial development.
For the U.S., the economic benefits are clearly a priority. The more stringent security requirements imposed after 9/11, leading to a dramatic drop in the number of people applying to visit the country, and the poor global economy following the financial tsunami beginning in 2008 have in the last 10 years caused the U.S. to lose an estimated US$900 billion in foreign exchange, as well as 500,000 jobs, bringing its share of the global tourism market down sharply from 17 percent to 11 percent. And with presidential elections fast approaching, any measure to bolster the economy is bound to garner support. It is projected that if the tourism sector can return to pre-9/11 levels, 1.3 million jobs could be created.
To this end, in January U.S. President Barack Obama signed an executive order on Establishing Visa and Foreign Visitor Processing Goals and the Task Force on Travel and Competitiveness, with the aim of boosting the travel industry.
Still, politics were definitely a factor in the decision as well.
Conditions in the western Pacific have become progressively less stable since the beginning of the year. South Korean President Lee Myung-bak helicoptered to the islets of Dokdo, or Takeshima, as they are known in Japan, touching off a high-profile dispute between two key U.S. regional allies. Moreover, the standoff between mainland China and Japan over the Diaoyutai Archipelago hovers on the brink of conflict, threatening U.S. strategic interests in Asia, and even globally.
Just as Beijing does not want any unforeseen incidents ahead of the 18th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party, Washington is also looking to maintain stability in the face of domestic and international challenges. Making longstanding tacit U.S. ally Taiwan happy by bringing it into the VWP at this time is a low-cost, high-profit move, given the island’s vital strategic location.
For Taipei the benefits are also obvious. Although the announcement at the end of last year that the country had been nominated for inclusion in the VWP was considered by some observers as a ploy to help President Ma Ying-jeou get re-elected, increasing the number of countries offering ROC citizens visa-free entry has always been an important part of the Ma administration’s viable diplomacy.
Membership in the VWP club will be a shot in the arm for the government, which has been registering very low approval ratings.
Visa waivers are not just a matter of convenience—they help Taiwan integrate more fully with the rest of the world. For Taiwan businessmen who travel the globe in search of commercial opportunities, they provide an important guarantee and represent official recognition of ROC travel documents.
The political significance of visa-free entry to the U.S. can be seen from the fact that so far only 36 countries have been admitted to the program, including in the Asia-Pacific only Australia, Brunei, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and New Zealand. For Taiwan, which continues to rely on U.S. support in international affairs, this is an especially valuable development.
To believe that all is now right in Taiwan-U.S. relations, however, may be overly optimistic.
At the same time that news was breaking on the VWP, State Department and Department of Defense officials “happened” not to be able to attend the Taiwan-U.S. Defense Industry Conference in Pennsylvania. While there has been no explicit link to U.S. displeasure with Taiwan’s handling of the Diaoyutais controversy, it reflects Washington’s characteristic carrot and stick approach.
Taiwan’s dependence on the U.S. for defensive weapons is the key to future U.S. policy, and the ROC government needs to very carefully evaluate how to proceed on this issue. (THN)
(This commentary originally appeared in the China Times Oct. 3, 2012.)
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