The ROC and U.S. have long enjoyed close relations that reflect a shared respect for liberty, democracy, freedom, human rights and the rule of law. With bilateral ties at their highest point in 10 years, Washington should recognize the value of this special friendship by admitting Taiwan into the U.S. Visa Waiver Program.
Under the VWP, nationals from 36 countries can visit the U.S. without a visa for up to 90 days. Most of Washington’s important allies and friends are in the program, but Taipei remains on the outer despite extensive ROC government efforts to remedy this matter.
The path Taiwan must follow to achieve U.S. visa-free entry was mapped out by the Principles for Cooperation on Improving Travel Security, inked in December 2008 by the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the U.S. and the American Institute in Taiwan.
A key component of this agreement calls for major changes to Taiwan’s passport system. The ROC government’s response includes introducing biometric passports and announcing stricter conditions regulating the application and photograph verification process.
As part of this new policy, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs commenced a four-month trial March 1 that requires citizens to complete passport application procedures in person at selected household registration offices. If successful, the new procedure will be rolled out nationwide in July.
These efforts, combined with ROC President Ma Ying-jeou’s pragmatic cross-strait policies, which seek to increase economic interaction and normalize relations with mainland China, have seen an increasing number of countries, territories and regions extend visa-free privileges to ROC citizens. According to the MOFA, 97 governments offer visa-free entry to ROC passport holders, including those of Canada, Croatia, the EU, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea and the U.K.
Washington has repeatedly stated that Taiwan cannot be included in the VWP program until all requirements outlined in the travel security agreement have been satisfied. To date, the ROC government has made great strides in meeting the majority of these targets, and it is now time for the U.S. to recognize these efforts and join the growing list of nations that have granted the country visa-free entry.
As a responsible stakeholder and trustworthy partner in the international community, Taiwan is a worthy candidate for U.S. visa-free entry. VWP inclusion would promote more meaningful bilateral exchanges and produce tangible results on matters that carry even greater weight, including an economic pact under the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement. The time is ripe for the U.S. to give Taiwan’s 23 million people the ticket to ride they deserve.
Write to Taiwan Today at ttonline@mail.gio.gov.tw