Ministry urges Taiwanese to postpone Uganda travel

‘UNREASONABLE’:
Taiwanese facing entry issues in Uganda and Morocco are examples of African nations succumbing to pressure from China, travel agents say

• By Shelley Shan / Staff reporter

The government yesterday urged people to consider postponing travel to Uganda after Taiwanese were denied entry or had their passports confiscated by Ugandan immigration officers.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a travel advisory after a Taiwanese family of three, who live in Uganda for work, had their passports confiscated on Wednesday.

Although they were eventually allowed to enter Uganda and had no plan to leave in the short term, Ugandan immigration officials demanded that they submit Chinese passports bearing entry stamps before returning their Taiwanese passports, saying that the measure was part of Uganda’s enforcement of the “one China” policy.

The Taiwan Representative Office in the Republic of Somaliland is working closely with the Taiwanese business association in Uganda to provide care and assistance to the family, the ministry said.

That was the latest incident in cases in which Taiwanese have had their passports confiscated by immigration officers at Entebbe International Airport. In one case, the person was deported.

“The Ugandan government has yet to officially announce any change to the visa policy for Taiwan. However, given that several Taiwanese recently encountered difficulties when seeking to enter Uganda, people should consider postponing the trip after cautiously evaluating the necessity and potential risks,” the ministry said.

There are 70 Taiwanese living in Uganda, and there are 35 Taiwanese-funded businesses in the country, it said.

“We express serious concerns over recent cases of Taiwanese being denied or obstructed entry at Ugandan airports. The Ugandan government should recognize that the Republic of China (Taiwan) is a sovereign and independent state, and is not subordinate to China. They should not impose improper entry restrictions on Taiwanese travelers, which would only harm normal exchange and economic benefits of both countries,” the ministry said.

Travel agents said that Taiwanese mainly visit Uganda for business purposes.

Separately, a travel agent advised people planning to visit north Africa to consider traveling to Tunisia instead, as Morocco has stopped issuing visa confirmation letters to Taiwanese tourists since July 20.

The ministry has stopped handling visa applications filed by Moroccans since July 30.

Success Travel general manager Vivian Chang (張雯雯), who also serves as a specialist for tours in Central Asia and Africa, said Morrocco was previously an add-on travel destination when people visited Spain and Portugal, but has over the past few years emerged as a popular destination for tourists seeking an in-depth travel experience.

About 5,000 Taiwanese visited Morocco last year, Chang added.

The unexpected visa policy change has affected 1,000 Taiwanese travelers who were scheduled to travel to the north African nation in the fourth quarter.

“To our knowledge, nothing is likely to change this year,” Chang said. “Some travel agencies allow tour changes under this circumstance, but some costs and fees are non-refundable. Airlines could also give partial refunds.”

“Compared with larger travel agencies, smaller travel agencies are likely to sustain more financial losses,” she added.

Success Travel estimated that only about 5 percent of people scheduled to travel to Morocco would switch to Tunisia instead, Chang said.

The incidents involving Taiwanese tourists in Uganda and Morocco are examples of African nations succumbing to pressure from China and imposing unreasonable requirements on Taiwanese tourists, travel agents said.

Another example is South Africa, which allows other tourists to file visa applications electronically, but requires Taiwanese to apply for visas via their diplomatic offices, they said.

In some countries, Taiwanese are forced to choose “Taiwan, China” as their nationality when filling in application forms, they added.