On the practical level, individual travelers will realize significant savings under the VWP system. According to the DHS, 243,186 unique visitors from Taiwan traveled to the United States in fiscal year 2011. At US$160 per visa application fee, that means Taiwanese travelers paid as much as US$38.9 million just to enter the United States that year. Under the VWP, such travelers will pay only US$14 to register via the web-based Electronic System for Travel Authorization. In the future, the ROC government expects that reduced expense and increased convenience to boost the number of trips by Taiwanese travelers to the United States to 600,000 each year.
In the bigger picture, inclusion in the VWP demonstrates recognition of Taiwan’s accomplishments on multiple levels. First, membership in the program recognizes Taiwan’s development, as virtually all of the 37 countries in the VWP are politically stable and have high standards of living. In other words, conditions in Taiwan are sufficiently positive that the US government sees very little risk of Taiwanese citizens seeking illegal employment or overstaying their visas while in the United States.
Second, admission to the program recognizes the high caliber of ROC citizens traveling abroad. A major requirement for a country’s inclusion in the VWP is having a nonimmigrant visa refusal rate of less than 3 percent. As with other countries, the United States typically refuses to grant visas due to an applicant’s inability to meet the requirements of an established visa category or for other reasons including insufficient cash reserves or fraudulent documents. In 2011, the refusal rate for visas for Taiwanese applicants intending to travel to the United States was just 1.9 percent.
Third, admittance to the VWP recognizes Taiwan’s achievements in meeting strict security standards and procedures. In clearing Taiwan for the VWP, the DHS determined that the country complies with enhanced law enforcement and security-related data sharing with the United States. Taiwan has achieved such compliance through measures such as implementing the Advanced Passenger Information System, which allows the nation’s immigration officers to screen passengers’ information prior to their arrival and departure; introducing the e-Gate system, which enhances security, counterterrorism efforts and efficiency at the country’s major airports by scanning passengers’ faces and cross-referencing that imagery with file photos; and adopting integrated circuit chips in ROC passports to prevent forgery.
Fourth, the VWP recognizes the effectiveness of the policy of viable diplomacy implemented under President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九). Under that framework, Ma promised the United States “low key, surprise-free” relations based on pragmatism, and Washington has now responded positively. “Today’s announcement is a major step forward in our long-standing economic partnership with Taiwan,” Napolitano said in announcing Taiwan’s inclusion into the VWP. The ROC Ministry of Foreign Affairs was no less effusive, saying “The newest development once again indicates that the Taiwan-U.S. tie has become closer.”
For Taiwanese travelers, the VWP means visiting the United States is now more convenient and less expensive. For Taiwan, inclusion in the program represents a major vote of confidence in the country’s impressive economic development, stable government and outstanding citizenry. For the future, the VWP opens the door to further bilateral cooperation and exchanges in the areas of culture, economy, education, tourism and trade. While gaining admission to the VWP was arduous for Taiwan, doing so points toward an era in which the nation gains the international recognition it so richly deserves.