A Taiwanese family was deported from Cuba this weekend as part of the “One China” principle, which refuses to recognize Taiwan as a country. As a result, the Taiwanese government issued an orange travel alert for the island. This being the second highest of their four security levels that they have.
The alert recommends Taiwan citizens not to travel to Cuban territory, something that could end up affecting tourism from that territory.
The incident involved a Taiwanese family who resides in Montreal and arrived in the Greater Antilles with Taiwanese passports, which were not recognized by the Castro authorities, a loyal ally of the Chinese government.
According to the medium 14 intervene, only the wife and one of the children were approved to enter Cuba, while three other family members were rejected. They were stripped of their documents and sent to a room at the airport where they remained for nine hours.
The family claimed to know some compatriots who had traveled to Cuba without problems, so they asked what had changed. Officials indicated it was due to the strained relationship between Taiwan and China.
“This is our new policy because Taiwan and China now have a strained relationship,” said one of the officials questioned by the affected family.
The Yen family arrived in Canada on Sunday, and since then they denounced what happened in the Greater Antilles.
In this regard, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Taiwan confirmed that its citizens can travel to Cuba with a tourist visa, which is valid for 180 days, and which is granted by the Island and can be sent to travel agencies.
Hsiao Kuangwei, spokesperson for the ministry, indicated during a press conference that he reviewed the policies between Cuba and Taiwan after learning of the Yen family case, but that no changes seemed to have been formally made.
The official said that he has asked his lawyer in Colombia (since he does not have one in Cuba) to find out what happened, and if it was a discretionary decision by airport officials or there is some official measure that has been implemented recently.
For now, Hsiao Kuangwei recommends all those with Taiwanese passports to postpone their trips to Cuba or to contact their airlines to find out if they can be admitted to the Island.
