TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Chinese pressure could be a reason behind the drop in nations providing visa-free travel to Taiwanese, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said on Tuesday (Aug. 6). 

Each visa arrangement is different and cannot be generalized, but the ministry does not rule out the possibility of Chinese pressure being involved, it said, per Liberty Times. MOFA said that from the end of last year to April 12th of this year, visa-free access was removed for Nauru, Kiribati, and Gambia, while visa-on-arrival was removed for Liberia, Cameroon, and Togo.

The ministry emphasized that for every instance of visa-free or visa-on-arrival cancellation, it promptly instructs relevant overseas missions to make every effort to negotiate and secure conveniences for Taiwanese citizens for business and travel abroad.

A National Audit Office report revealed that the number of countries granting visa-free travel to Taiwanese citizens decreased from 171 to 166 between December 2023 and the end of April. However, it pointed out that MOFA’s efforts in the past five years have resulted in e-visa and visa-free agreements with seven countries, including Argentina and Thailand.