Taiwanese citizens still allowed into Kenya despite conflicting reports: MOFA

Taipei, July 2 (CNA) Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said Wednesday it has received no reports of Taiwanese citizens being denied entry into Kenya, despite recent comments by a Kenyan official suggesting that holders of Taiwan passports would not be allowed entry into the country.

According to a Kenyan Times report on June 17, Kenya's Principal Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Korir Sing'oei, said travelers holding Taiwanese passports would "ordinarily be denied entry at Kenya's borders for lacking proper travel documentation."

"Any person purporting to hold a Taiwanese passport would ordinarily not be allowed through our borders for lacking proper documentation and would not in any event be part of a formal state meeting convened by Kenya government," Sing'oei was quoted as saying.

Sing'oei also reaffirmed Kenya's adherence to the "one China" policy, under which Nairobi recognizes the People's Republic of China rather than Taiwan, according to the report.

On Wednesday, however, MOFA told CNA that Taiwanese passport holders can still enter Kenya, provided that their passport is valid for at least six months and they obtain an Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA), in accordance with Kenya's current regulations.

The foreign ministry said it will continue to monitor any changes to Kenya's entry policies to safeguard the rights and interests of Taiwanese citizens traveling there for business or tourism.

MOFA suggested that Sing'oei's reported remarks may have been made in response to an incident last month involving a Taiwanese delegation to the 11th Our Ocean Conference in Mombasa.

Organizers of a pre-conference event refused to accredit the Taiwanese delegates because they held Taiwan passports, according to MOFA and Taiwan's Ocean Affairs Council (OAC).

The OAC said two Taiwanese delegates were later detained by Kenyan immigration officials for about 20 hours, during which their passports and mobile phones were confiscated.

Following their release, the two Taiwanese immediately departed Kenya and returned to Taiwan, the OAC said. Other members of the Taiwan delegation, including OAC officials who had not yet arrived in Kenya for the June 16-18 conference, subsequently canceled their participation, it said.

MOFA said Taiwan withdrew its delegation to protect the personal safety of its citizens, in light of the Kenyan government's "extremely unfriendly gestures."

Both MOFA and the OAC said that Kenya's actions were taken under political pressure from Beijing, though neither provided further details.

MOFA currently maintains an orange travel alert for Kenya, citing regional security concerns and the country's treatment of Taiwanese travelers.

Under Taiwan's four-tier travel advisory system - coded gray, yellow, orange and red - an orange alert advises citizens to avoid unnecessary travel and urges travelers to reconsider non-essential trips and exercise a high degree of caution.