GOVERNOR LINDA LINGLE COMMENDS TAIWAN'S VISA WAIVER QUALIFICATION
HONOLULU - Governor Linda Lingle, candidate for Hawaii's open U.S. Senate seat, released the following statement after Taiwan qualified for a 'visa waiver' status.
"I am very pleased at the news that Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano announced today that Taiwan has qualified for a 'visa waiver' status and will officially join the program in November of this year.
"I congratulate the administration of Taiwan President Ma Ying-Jeou and the U.S. Departments of Homeland Security, State and Commerce for this decision, which will help Hawaii’s and our national economy with more visitors from Taiwan.
"In my many trips to Taiwan as a Mayor and as Governor, the easing of visa restrictions on business and leisure travelers from Taiwan to the Hawaii and to the U.S. mainland was a constant topic of discussion. I was also privileged to meet President Ma in Honolulu and in Taipei, where we agreed to exert our efforts with our respective governments to secure a visa waiver status for Taiwan. I am pleased to see that the effort has now reached a successful result.
"Together with the visa waiver status for Korea and some practical 'fixes' to the visa issuance process in China, Hawaii is poised to see and benefit from even more visitors from the Asia Pacific regions."
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