Taipei [Taiwan], August 13 (ANI): Ugandan immigration authorities reportedly withheld the passports of three Taiwanese travellers and requested them to supply Chinese passports, citing Uganda’s ‘One China precept’, in line with a report by Central News Agency (CNA) which cited Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA).
The three Taiwanese nationals arrived at Entebbe International Airport at round 3 pm native time on Wednesday, the place they encountered immigration officers, Taiwan’s MOFA mentioned in an announcement. Although the travellers had been ultimately permitted to enter Uganda, the officers reportedly refused to return their Taiwanese passports except they introduced passports issued by China, wherein the officers might place entry stamps.
Taiwan’s consultant workplace in Somaliland, which handles issues associated to Uganda, together with the Taiwanese enterprise affiliation in Uganda, promptly supplied help to the affected travellers, in line with MOFA. The incident got here after two earlier circumstances involving Taiwanese nationals whose passports had been additionally withheld on the airport. One of these people was later refused entry into Uganda and despatched again, CNA reported.
Yen Chia-liang, head of MOFA’s Department of West Asian and African Affairs, mentioned the sooner incidents could have been linked to Taiwan’s determination to droop visa issuance and entry for Ugandan nationals on June 2 amid rising considerations over Ebola. However, Yen mentioned the ministry couldn’t exclude the likelihood that Uganda had altered its entry coverage for Taiwanese nationals in accordance with its ‘One China precept’, as cited by CNA.
MOFA mentioned Uganda has not formally introduced any adjustments to its visa or entry necessities for Taiwanese nationals. In response to the current incidents, the ministry suggested Taiwanese residents to rigorously take into account the need and potential dangers related to travelling to Uganda and beneficial suspending deliberate journeys in the meanwhile.
Taiwan’s consultant workplace will proceed participating with Ugandan authorities to hunt clarification and negotiate over the difficulty, whereas additionally offering help to the affected travellers, MOFA mentioned.
The ministry urged Uganda to not introduce inappropriate entry restrictions based mostly on political issues, warning that such measures might negatively have an effect on regular exchanges and shared pursuits between the 2 sides. MOFA additionally known as on the Ugandan authorities to acknowledge that the Republic of China (Taiwan) and the People’s Republic of China usually are not subordinate to 1 one other.
According to figures cited by MOFA and reported by CNA, practically 70 Taiwanese nationals at the moment reside in Uganda, whereas round 35 Taiwanese-invested corporations function within the nation and contribute to native employment. (ANI)