Chinese tourists wanted to visit Taiwan but wrote "Taiwan, China" on their application documents. The Director of Immigration responded.
The applicant was asked by the Immigration Department to make supplementary documents due to the word "Taiwan, China" appearing on the reservation form, and was required to sign a statement of political stance.
Quick Look
- When a Chinese netizen applied to travel to Taiwan, the Immigration Department asked for a replacement document because the booking form showed "Taiwan, China" and was asked to sign a statement respecting Taiwan's sovereignty.
- Director of Immigration Lin Hongen said that people coming to Taiwan must abide by Chinese laws and regulations, and the terminology for individual cases will continue to be refined to avoid misunderstandings.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
According to the Regulations on Relations between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area, the competent authorities may not grant permission to those who insult the dignity of our country.
A Chinese netizen posted a screenshot of the system review by the Immigration Department of the Ministry of the Interior on Threads, revealing that he was asked to provide additional documents when applying online for the "Entry Permit for People Living Overseas in Mainland China to Visit Taiwan." The Immigration Department asked this netizen to remove the word "Taiwan, China" that belittles our country on the hotel reservation form and then replace it with a replacement. It also asked the netizen to write "respect Taiwan as a sovereign and independent country, and Taiwan and China are not affiliated with each other." This has attracted attention from all walks of life. In response, Director of Immigration Lin Hongen said in an interview today that the purpose of coming to Taiwan is to abide by my country's laws and regulations.
Lin Hongen was interviewed in the Legislative Yuan today and said that tourists from all over the world are welcome to visit Taiwan, but they must still abide by the relevant laws and regulations of our country. According to regulations such as the Regulation on Relations between the People of Taiwan and the Mainland Area and the Measures for Tourist Licensing, the competent authorities may deny permission or revoke licenses in accordance with the law for parts that are insulting to the dignity of our country.
However, Lin Hongen also said that for this case, he will continue to improve the wording used by his colleagues to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings.
In this netizen's application, the Immigration Department found that the hotel reservation form contained the words "Taiwan, China" that dwarfed my country. Therefore, it responded to the netizen, "The hotel reservation form contained the word "Taiwan, China" that dwarfed the name of my country. You must provide a new reservation form with the words removed and write "Respect Taiwan as a sovereign and independent country. Taiwan and China are not affiliated with each other." Sign and upload after signing."
This netizen also posted a post, claiming that he was just sightseeing, and the booking address was automatically brought out by the booking platform Agoda. After changing the language setting, the word disappeared. He believed that the setting problems of the platform and the hotel should not be borne by the passengers, and was forced to sign a statement on his political stance without a clear source. Finally, he simply said "I will not make up for it."
Open Questions
- What is the specific legal basis for this political statement requirement?
