THE PHILIPPINES LIFTED the travel ban on Taiwan barely a week after the Manila imposed the restriction to prevent the spread of the Wuhan coronavirus - also called nCov and CoVid 19 - which originated in China.
Taiwan Economic and Cultural Office in Manila, has expressed “deep appreciation to all Filipino friends who have voiced their sincere support for removing Taiwan from the temporary travel ban.”
It said: “We especially commend the Manila Economic and Cultural Office for its tireless efforts to help remove Taiwan from the travel ban. The Republic of China (Taiwan) attaches great importance to its long-standing relationship with the Republic of the Philippines. We are determined to strengthen our bilateral ties and promote our people-to-people connectivity.”
Taiwan said it will continue to work closely with the international community, including the Philippines, to fight against the Wuhan coronavirus to “safeguard the health and welfare of humanity.”
Philippine Tourism Secretary Bernadette Puyat also welcomed the lifting of the travel ban on Taiwan.
“The lifting of the travel ban on Taiwan is highly assuring and we hope that the nCov crisis would soon be resolved, worldwide. Ultimately, the recovery of all affected countries is a universal prayer, especially that tourism is an inclusive and sustainable business for and of the people,” she said.
Taiwan is the Philippines’ fifth largest tourist source market raking up an impressive double-digit increase of 37% for its 305,570 arrivals in January to November 2019 before the health crisis broke out.
Following the lifting of the travel ban on Taiwan, Beijing now also wanted Manila to lift the travel on China, Hong Kong and Macau.
Manila first issued a travel ban February 2 on all tourists from China and its Special Administrative Regions - Hong Kong and Macao –and included Taiwan a week later.
There were reports that Beijing allegedly pressured Manila to strongly abide by the “One-China Policy” and include Taiwan in the expanded travel ban. Beijing has strongly maintained that Taiwan is part of China.
But the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) said the imposition of the travel ban was due to increasing concern about the spread of the virus and because many people did not want to travel, local carriers were prompted to cancel flights to and from China, Hong Kong and Macao, Taiwan included.
Taiwan earlier expressed grave concern over the travel ban and appealed to Manila to lift the order.
“The Republic of China (Taiwan) is a sovereign and independent state. Taiwan issues its own passport and visas and has exclusive jurisdiction over its people and territory. In fact, Taiwan is not, nor has it ever been, part of the PRC. Taiwan has taken all measures needed to contain the spread of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV),” it said, adding, “No other countries in Asia, except the Philippines, have issued travel ban on Taiwan. We urge the Philippine government to immediately correct its decision on Taiwan and remove Taiwan from the travel ban.”
There are nearly 200,000 Filipinos working in Taiwan and could be affected by the ban should Taipei retaliates against the Philippines. Taiwan has over a dozen cases of coronavirus, but no reports of death from the disease.
The One-China Policy can be traced back to 1949 and the end of the Chinese civil war after the defeated Nationalists, also known as the Kuomintang, retreated to Taiwan and made it their seat of government while the victorious Communists began ruling the mainland as the People's Republic of China. Since then China has threatened to use force if Taiwan ever formally declares independence. (Cebu Examiner)
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Taiwan Economic and Cultural Office in Manila, has expressed “deep appreciation to all Filipino friends who have voiced their sincere support for removing Taiwan from the temporary travel ban.”
It said: “We especially commend the Manila Economic and Cultural Office for its tireless efforts to help remove Taiwan from the travel ban. The Republic of China (Taiwan) attaches great importance to its long-standing relationship with the Republic of the Philippines. We are determined to strengthen our bilateral ties and promote our people-to-people connectivity.”
Taiwan said it will continue to work closely with the international community, including the Philippines, to fight against the Wuhan coronavirus to “safeguard the health and welfare of humanity.”
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| Experts blame a form of systemic inflammatory response syndrome called "cytokine storm" for killing some novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV)-infected patients who were not very sick in the early stage of infection but eventually died of multiple organ failure, according to Chinese media reports. (Photo by China News Service) |
Philippine Tourism Secretary Bernadette Puyat also welcomed the lifting of the travel ban on Taiwan.
“The lifting of the travel ban on Taiwan is highly assuring and we hope that the nCov crisis would soon be resolved, worldwide. Ultimately, the recovery of all affected countries is a universal prayer, especially that tourism is an inclusive and sustainable business for and of the people,” she said.
Taiwan is the Philippines’ fifth largest tourist source market raking up an impressive double-digit increase of 37% for its 305,570 arrivals in January to November 2019 before the health crisis broke out.
Following the lifting of the travel ban on Taiwan, Beijing now also wanted Manila to lift the travel on China, Hong Kong and Macau.
Manila first issued a travel ban February 2 on all tourists from China and its Special Administrative Regions - Hong Kong and Macao –and included Taiwan a week later.
There were reports that Beijing allegedly pressured Manila to strongly abide by the “One-China Policy” and include Taiwan in the expanded travel ban. Beijing has strongly maintained that Taiwan is part of China.
But the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) said the imposition of the travel ban was due to increasing concern about the spread of the virus and because many people did not want to travel, local carriers were prompted to cancel flights to and from China, Hong Kong and Macao, Taiwan included.
Taiwan earlier expressed grave concern over the travel ban and appealed to Manila to lift the order.
“The Republic of China (Taiwan) is a sovereign and independent state. Taiwan issues its own passport and visas and has exclusive jurisdiction over its people and territory. In fact, Taiwan is not, nor has it ever been, part of the PRC. Taiwan has taken all measures needed to contain the spread of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV),” it said, adding, “No other countries in Asia, except the Philippines, have issued travel ban on Taiwan. We urge the Philippine government to immediately correct its decision on Taiwan and remove Taiwan from the travel ban.”
There are nearly 200,000 Filipinos working in Taiwan and could be affected by the ban should Taipei retaliates against the Philippines. Taiwan has over a dozen cases of coronavirus, but no reports of death from the disease.
The One-China Policy can be traced back to 1949 and the end of the Chinese civil war after the defeated Nationalists, also known as the Kuomintang, retreated to Taiwan and made it their seat of government while the victorious Communists began ruling the mainland as the People's Republic of China. Since then China has threatened to use force if Taiwan ever formally declares independence. (Cebu Examiner)
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