US allows visa-free travel for Taiwanese

The US announced on Tuesday a new policy of visa-free travel for Taiwanese visitors heading to America.  

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano described it as a way to increase security and "people-to-people" ties between the US and Taiwan.  

From December 1, Taiwan joins 36 countries whose nationals can travel to the US for tourism or business for 90 days without a visa.   

It is not a privilege enjoyed by China, which claims Taiwan as part of its territory.   

Napolitano described the visa decision as a "logical development."     

The US decision came during an election campaign where both candidates want to show they are tough on China.     

The announcement could have been timed to demonstrate the Obama administration is sticking up for self-governing Taiwan, but it also came after President Ma Ying-jeou calmed tensions with China.      

The waiver is also viewed as a response to Taiwan lifting restrictions on US beef imports.  Some 290,000 Taiwanese visited the United States in 2011, spending 1.1 (b) billion US dollars, according to the US Commerce Department.        

Following Napolitano's announcement, US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton stressed the importance of travel and tourism for creating jobs and promoting economic growth within the US. 

Clinton said tourists from China and Brazil alone supported tens of thousands of jobs in the country.       

"The average tourist from overseas spends 4,000 dollars in the United States. In July of this year, foreign tourists spent nearly 14 billion dollars here. For every 65 international visitors, one American job is created. And that figure adds up. In the last year, visitors from just China and Brazil supported more than 40,000 American jobs," she said.  

To encourage more travel to the US, the secretary said American embassies around the world were expediting visa processing times and promoting the US as a travel destination.         

Keeping Americans safe at home and abroad is a top priority, she said, even though visa and entry programs had been expanded and expedited for certain countries.  


APTN