TAIPEI is almost certain of extending the July 31st deadline to provide visa-free access to Taiwan for Filipinos, according to Deputy Minister James Chu of the Taiwan Economic Cooperation Office (Teco).
“We are 95 percent sure the deadline would be extended,” Chu said during an ambush interview in a hotel in Makati. The visa-free program started in November last year.
He said since the program started, there were 290,000 Filipinos who visited Taiwan, or 68 percent more compared to 2016.
“During the first quarter of 2018, Filipino arrivals in Taipei rose by 73 percent compared to the first quarter last year.”
On the other hand, there were 60,000 Taiwanese who visited the Philippines during the first three months of 2018, Chu said.
He added that Taiwan will review whether the policy of providing visa-free status to Filipinos is good or not and whether to extend or terminate it. “The decision is going to be publicized before the end of this month.”
“But looking back on the last nine months, we see many, many, positive developments, so that we don’t concern ourselves too much about national security.”
Asked how much income Taiwan is losing from the cancellation of payments for the visa application of Filipinos, Chu said: “It is huge but we don’t see the monetary return because we much value the understanding between two peoples.”
The BusinessMirror asked Chu if the estimated income loss is the equivalent of P450 million a year, and he agreed.
“We lost some revenue but it’s quite valuable if we can enhance the understanding and the friendship between Taiwan and the Philippines. It’s much, much, more important than the income.”
Meanwhile, he said, “We hope that the Philippines would reciprocate by providing visa-free visitors for Taiwanese coming to the Philippines as tourists but mostly businessmen,” Chu said.
According to Chu, Taiwan has tried to persuade the Philippines to provide visa-free access to Taiwanese visiting the Philippines. He said they approached the Manila Economic Cooperation Office, the Department of Foreign Affairs, some Cabinet members and other institutions.