As mentioned yesterday, Taiwan has declared that as of today (2020/3/19) all foreign nationals without legal residency will have to leave when their visitor visas expire. One Frenchman has already been detained at the airport and will be repatriated after doing a “visa run” to Singapore. A UK national was readmitted because he is married to a Taiwanese citizen. (Will there be any quickie marriages because of this?)
Less than 30 minutes ago as I write (14:30 UTC+8), a Briton posted a whine to a facebook group, claiming his forced repatriation to the UK in a few days is “racism” against white people. Needless to say, the comments in the group are pure gold. Eighty five comments in 30 minutes.
But that’s not the whole story. Below the fold is a screenshot from his personal page.
He gets his own personal Brexit-from-Taiwan party.
Aaaaaaaaaaaand it’s gone.
I guess he realized he put his foot in it.
I don’t understand the justification for this. Don’t let people in, that makes sense. Don’t let people leave and come back, sure. But what’s to be gained from kicking people out? Considering the fact that airports are deathtraps now, this seems like an exercise in pointless, heavy-handed nativism that benefits nothing but the virus.
It’s not expulsion by arrest and removal, so they are not being kicked out.
By prior existing law their visitor visas can’t be extended, so this is no change. The difference is no more visa runs.
I don#t understandd the rationale either, but it’s still funny that it has happened to such a Brexiteer
@ comment #2: Perhaps the idea is something along the lines of, “We’re going to save all our hospital beds, tests and masks for OUR citizens and no one else”? At any rate the irony is actually kind of funny, I must admit.
The point is moot now, regardless of how people feel about Taiwan’s decision. According to Al Jazeera, roughly ninety countries around the world have enacted partial or total restriction for non-citizens entering their country.
If the world shuts down for two months and kills the disease, that’s better than the alternative.