Mayor Cheng fully backs U.S. congressmen’s proposal for a U.S. pre-clearance facility in Taoyuan International Airport to elevate Taiwan-US relations
On March 30, Taoyuan Mayor Cheng Wen-tsan relayed a Bloomberg report made on the 27th: seven Republican and two Democratic members of the U.S. Congress have proposed to the Biden administration to promote measures to “improve the ease of travel between the United States and Taiwan and reinforce the importance of our relationship with Taiwan.” The proposal demonstrates the U.S. support to the island country facing increasing threats from China. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection Bureau (CPB) spokesman also said on the 26th that officials are evaluating the proposal at the moment.
According to the mayor, the Taiwan-U.S. cooperation has made great strides in areas ranging from the Indo-Pacific cooperation, freedom and democracy, science and technology, education, culture to epidemic prevention. If the Taoyuan International Airport is chosen as a site for U.S. pre-clearance facility, the Taiwan-U.S. relations will further strengthen and deepen in a more comprehensive and steady manner.
As stated by the mayor, Taoyuan City Government will continue to work with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) to promote Taoyuan International Airport as the first airport in the Asia-Pacific region to join the pre-clearance program outside the United States. With Taoyuan as a pre-clearance site, passengers flying to the U.S. from the Asia-Pacific region will conveniently complete customs clearance in Taoyuan, Taiwan, promoting closer exchanges and business opportunities for the people of Taiwan and the U.S.
During his three official visits to the U.S., the mayor had discussed the pre-clearance program with relevant parties and voiced his support for the program to branch out to the Taoyuan International Airport. “As a transit airport for passengers from Southeast Asia to the U.S., Taoyuan boasts great potentials to become a pre-clearance site to expedite the entry into the U.S.,” the mayor argued.
The mayor is glad to see the open letter issued by the nine members of the U.S. Congress on March 25, which recognized “Taiwan as an outstanding choice for a CBP pre-clearance facility.” The nine members of congress made a formal proposal to the Biden Administration to set up a CBP pre-clearance facility in Taiwan to increase passenger traffic and strengthen bilateral ties between the U.S. and Taiwan.
“As the world is facing an economic downturn caused by the global pandemic, Taiwan has managed to secure its supply chains and strong export growth thanks to its proper pandemic control,” said the mayor. As written in the open letter, “Taiwan is America’s ninth-largest trading partner, and its government strongly supports Taoyuan airport’s bid for the pre-clearance facility program.”
As pointed out by the mayor, Taoyuan International Airport already hosts many direct flights between Taiwan and the U.S. With his experience in promoting the kickoff of a new non-stop flight route between Taoyuan and Ontario, California, within 395 days, the mayor is very confident in hosting the CBP pre-clearance facility in Taoyuan as supports have been lent to the preparation for the pre-clearance program by the central government and local governments in Taiwan.
The construction of Terminal 3 (T3) at Taoyuan International Airport was successfully awarded in March of this year. Upon its completion, the annual capacity of T3 will increase to 45 million passengers, which will bring the total capacity of the airport to 77 million passengers per year. With its growing capacity, Taoyuan International Airport will serve as a perfect transit hub for passengers from Southeast Asia to the U.S.