NATIONAL DIGNITY: The KMT chairman said the US gave the right example when it waited until Taiwan fulfilled all its criteria before granting the privilege of visa-free travel
Taipei Times
Date: Nov 26, 2017
By: Stacy Hsu / Staff reporter
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) yesterday urged
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Wu Den-yih answers questions at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport yesterday before setting out on a trip to the Philippines and Thailand. Photo: Chu Pei-hsiung, Taipei Times
President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) administration to ensure mutual respect and be discreet when granting visa-waiver privileges to other countries, as he embarked on a trip to Southeast Asia that has been overshadowed by visa application difficulties.
Wu made the remarks at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport before leaving for the Philippines on a seven-day trip that is to also take him to Thailand.
Wu was on Friday forced to cancel the Thailand leg of his trip, after failing to secure a visa that he had applied for two weeks ago.
However, in an unexpected turn of events, the Thai government decided to issue visa shortly after the KMT announced the cancelation.
“I am not saying that we should not grant visa-free status to nations friendly toward us, but we must be cautious and discreet and have a good grasp of the local situation first,” Wu said.
Citing the US as an example, Wu said that Taiwan had endeavored for a long time to secure visa-free privileges from Washington, but the nation was not able to fulfill all the criteria until 2011, when he was premier. [FULL STORY]
