TAIWAN

BSTM 1-2

Pecundo, Alexandra

Peña, Precious Jewel

Peñascosa, Ma. Diana

TAIWAN

 Located off the coast of southwest of Okinawa, Japan and north of the Philippines.
 Capital: Taipei
 Official languages: Taiwanese Mandarin, Mandarin Chinese, Standard Mandarin
 The island has been governed by the Republic of China (ROC) since 1945.
 It is shaped roughly like a sweet potato, the island nation has more than 23 million people and is
one of the most densely populated places in the world.
 Besides its crowded cities, Taiwan is also known for steep mountains and lush forests.
 Visa-free
- Foreign nationals of the following countries can enter Taiwan visa-free as
a visitor provided that their passports are valid for at least 6 months upon entry:
o For up to 90 days: All European Union member states, Andorra, Australia,
Canada, Chile, Iceland, Israel, Japan, Liechtenstein, Monaco, New Zealand,
Norway, Paraguay, San Marino, South Korea, Switzerland, the United States
and the Vatican City.
o For up to 30 days: Malaysia and Singapore.
o For up to 14 days: Brunei, Thailand, the Philippines (until 31 July 2019), and
Russia.
 The ancestral origin of the majority of Filipinos and other Austronesian peoples is in Taiwan.
 Tourism is one of the major industries and contributor to the economy of Taiwan. In 2015,
Taiwan received roughly 10 million international visitors.
 Taiwan registered a record tourist footfall of 11.1 million in 2018, a 3.1 percent jump compared
to a year earlier but the number of Chinese visitors has dropped by 1.4 percent year on year,
according to the island's tourism data.
 Philippines supports the membership of Taiwan in UNESCO, in recognition of Taiwan's holistic
conservation of heritage sites.
 Citizens of Taiwan need to meet the electronic Philippines visa requirements. These
include having a valid passport with a validity of six months beyond the expected stay, a
roundtrip flight itinerary, hotel booking or accommodation reservation, a debit or credit card and
an email address.
 Must visit tourist attractions in Taiwan are Taipei 101, National Palace Museum, Taroko Gorge,
Yushan National Park, Alishan Scenic Mountain Area, Sun Moon Lake, Maokong, Dragon and
Tiger Pagodas
ARRIVAL STATISTICS (2016 and 2017)

Taiwan brought a total of 236,777 visitors, and has a share of 3.58%.

ARRIVAL STATISTICS (2018)

Taiwan remains among the top sources of the country's tourism industry with 240,842 Taiwanese
tourists traveling to the Philippines in 2018, marking an increase of 3.38 percent from the previous
year.
ARRIVAL STATISTICS (JANUARY-MAY 2019)

Taiwan had the highest increase in terms of arrivals, posting a 30.11% hike. In the 1st quarter of
the year, 77,908 Taiwanese visitors entered the Philippines, higher than the 59,877 in the same period
in 2018.
PURPOSE OF TAIWAN NATIONALS IN VISITING THE PHILIPPINES

 As the Philippines is poised for high and sustained growth and its market has become one of the
most prosperous ASEAN markets, it has been prioritized by the ROC (Taiwan) as the gateway
to ASEAN countries in the “New Southbound Policy.”
 Based on the “New Southbound Policy,” Taiwan hopes to strengthen cooperation with the
Philippines in various fields not only in trade and investment, agriculture, fisheries aquaculture,
technology, small and medium enterprises, Information and Communication Technology, green
technology, climate change, but also in education, culture, as well as people to people
interactions and exchanges.
 In 2017, Taiwan and the Philippines two-way trade has increased by $1.1 billion amounting to
$11.97 billion, as compared to $10.87 billion in 2016.
 Further, in order to strengthen the business ties with the Philippines, Taiwan has already
established seven banks in the Philippines.Taiwan and the Philippines maintain close
cooperation not only in economics and trade, investment, technology, agriculture, fishery, law
enforcement, labor affairs, but also in tourism, education, culture, and frequent people-to-people
engagement.
 Among these collaboration areas, tourism is an important element in promoting
people-to-people understanding. In 2018, visitor arrivals from the Philippines reached 419,105,
an increase of 128,357 from 2017 (290,748). Meanwhile, visitor arrivals from Taiwan to the
Philippines reached 240,840, an increase of 4,840 as compared with 236,000 in 2017.
 The tourism market’s strong recovery has shown the positive effect since the Republic of China
(Taiwan) government granted Filipinos visa-free entry to Taiwan, ROC, for holiday, sightseeing
and a short-visit not exceeding 14 days starting from November 1, 2017.
 This visa-free initiative shall undergo a trial period until July 31, 2018 as part of Taiwan’s
goodwill and efforts of the “New Southbound Policy” to build closer people-to-people exchange
of visits and an economic community between Taiwan and the Philippines.
Taiwan has extended its trial period of visa-free privileges to the Philippines for another
year until July 31, 2019, and will be reviewed for further extension.
 Apart from Taiwan’s thriving trade with the Philippines, Taiwan is the host to more than 150,000
Filipino workers, who are fairly treated and well protected by the law in Taiwan. They are
guaranteed by the ROC (Taiwan) national minimum wage required by law and receive exactly
the same national health insurance as the ROC (Taiwan) nationals do. As Taiwan is a peaceful
and safe place, Filipinos are fairly fond of Taiwan and consider Taiwan as their “second home.”
 There are also approximately 8,000 Filipinos who are married with Taiwanese. Most of them fell
in love at work. Meanwhile, the Taiwanese also thank them for their hard work and contribution
toward the economic development in Taiwan.

MOTIVATION OF TAIWAN NATIONALS IN VISITING THE PHILIPPINES

 On behalf of the Government of the Republic of China (Taiwan), the Taipei Economic and
Cultural Office (TECO) in the Philippines has the pleasure to announce hereby that the
visa-exemption program for the nationals of the Philippines will be extended for another year.
 The trial period will continue until July 31, 2019, and will be reviewed for further extension. This
visa-free privilege is a reflection of Taiwan’s goodwill and friendship towards all Filipinos under
 the “New Southbound Policy” which aims to build stronger bilateral relations and closer
people-to-people connectivity between Taiwan and the Philippines.
 In recent years, both countries have launched a number of visa liberalization measures which
have resulted in a rapid increase of visitors. The number of two-way visitors hit a record high in
2017 wherein Filipino travelers going to Taiwan reached 290,784 while Taiwanese visitors to the
Philippines reached 236,777.
 Representative Hsu announced that Taiwan’s visa-free trial program to the Filipino nationals will
be extended for another year. He believes that it will surely enhance the two countries’
long-standing friendship and further strengthen the multifaceted partnership and cooperation.
 At the same time, on behalf of the ROC (Taiwan) Government and its people, Representative
Hsu urges the Philippine Government and Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) to
grant visa-free treatment to the people of Taiwan on the basis of reciprocity, so as to attract
more Taiwanese tourists and business people to visit the Philippines.
 This is seen to produce a positive impact on various fields, particularly in tourism, investment,
trade, education, culture, agriculture and fisheries. It will be a significant milestone in the
bilateral win-win partnership and also enhance the friendly ties and mutual benefits between
Taiwan and the Philippines.

REASONS WHY TAIWAN NATIONALS CHOOSE PHILIPPINES

DESTINATIONS HERE IN THE PHILIPPINES THAT TAIWAN NATIONALS GO TO