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Several countries recently cancelled preferential visa treatment for Taiwan passport holders due to pressure from China, the government in Taipei says
A number of countries have decided in recent months to cancel preferential visa treatment for Taiwan passport holders due to pressure from China, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) alleged Tuesday.
Botswana, for example, recently changed Taiwan's designation on the drop-down menu on its e-visa application system from "Taiwan" to "China" due to pressure from the People's Republic of China (PRC), MOFA said in a written statement.
The change meant that Taiwan passport holders could no longer apply for an e-visa to Botswana, it said.
Colombia also canceled its visa-free treatment to Taiwan passport holders in 2023. Now, only Taiwanese citizens who also hold United States or Schengen area residency or visas can travel visa-free to Colombia, MOFA said.
Taiwan said it discussed the issue with Colombia before the change, but the South American country insisted on going through with it, and MOFA said it suspected that PRC could be behind the decision, without providing any other details.