Foreign ministry official Winston Chung said Tuesday that the government’s New Southbound policy is paying dividends in terms of people coming to Taiwan for travel and study.

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2017-05-16

The New Southbound policy is a drive for closer ties with nations in Southeast and South Asia, as well as Australia and New Zealand. Chung said the positive trend is encouraging the ministry to continue to make visa access easier for nationals from the countries targeted by the policy.

“Basically we will continue to relax [visa regulations]. The main hope is to promote travel as well as trade and our other interactions with New Southbound target nations,” Chung said.

The ministry recently announced a second round of visa access policies. The visa-free entry program for visitors from Thailand and Brunei has been extended by a year. A one-year visa free trial period has been announced for nationals of the Philippines, while people from Vietnam may now apply for an electronic visa online.
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