WASHINGTON: Conservative groups that allege without evidence that President-elect Joe Biden stole the United States election from Donald Trump plan protests nationwide on Saturday (Dec 12), including a Washington rally headlined by Trump’s recently pardoned former national security adviser.
Organisers of Stop the Steal - which is linked to pro-Trump operative Roger Stone - and church groups urged supporters to turn out to "Jericho Marches" and prayer rallies. These are planned at Washington's National Mall and in the capitals of Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Nevada and Arizona, where Trump's campaign has questioned vote counts.
More than 50 federal and state court rulings have upheld Biden’s victory over President Trump. The US Supreme Court on Friday rejected a long-shot lawsuit filed by Texas and backed by Trump seeking to throw out voting results in four states.
Trump has refused to concede defeat, alleging without evidence that he was denied victory by massive fraud.
The Washington rally will begin with marches around the US Capitol, the US Supreme Court and Justice Department "with prayers for the walls of corruption and election fraud to fall down", according to the website StopTheSteal.US.
The plans reference the Biblical miracle of the battle of Jericho, in which the walls of the city crumbled after priests and soldiers marched around it.
Retired Army General Mike Flynn, who twice pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about contacts with the former Russian ambassador, is scheduled to speak from the high court steps, his first public address since Trump pardoned him on Nov 24.
Republican political donors and religious figures, including My Pillow CEO Mike Lindell and radio host Eric Metaxas, are expected to attend.
An anti-Trump group called a rally near the White House on Saturday as well, raising the potential for a repeat of clashes that occurred Nov 14.
PHNOM PENH: Until he turned 14, Thuch Salik’s world revolved around the streets of Siem Reap, Cambodia, where he had to peddle trinkets and souvenirs to tourists to help support his parents.
Home was a shack outside Angkor Wat, and he only had time to go to school for half the day. But he loved to learn, and dreamt of pursuing his studies overseas in the face of poverty and debt.
Impossible as it seemed in 2018, the teenager found himself transplanted to a high-end school in China last year, the only Cambodian at the Hailiang Foreign Language School in Zhejiang province.
He was “a bit scared”, but he knew it was a “brilliant” opportunity.
“When I was in Siem Reap, we didn’t have good livelihoods,” he said. “I could only study in school. And after school, I helped my mum to sell stuff. And I had almost no time to play with my friends.
“Nowadays, there’s a lot more studying. After school, during my free time, I have a lot more friends to play with.”
Thuch Salik (front, third from left) with his schoolmates.
It is a turnaround arising from a viral video of him and his gift: He can speak 16 languages.
Having taken the Internet by storm, and with the ensuing change in his family’s fortunes, his ambitions are set to go further: Now 16, he hopes to be a businessman and give back to his homeland.
He is even being talent-groomed to burnish his star quality, on social media and maybe in business one day, the series Beyond The Viral Video discovers.
WORLD MEETS SALIK
It all began in November 2018 when Salik was speaking in Chinese to a Malaysian tourist while hawking his basket of souvenirs outside Angkor Wat.
Her interest piqued, she tried speaking to him in French. He replied fluently before continuing in Cantonese and then Japanese. He talked to her in 11 languages in all. He had learnt them over three years while peddling his trinkets.
Thuch Salik in 2018.
The tourist filmed their conversation, and the video she posted turned him into a global inspiration.
At the time, his mother, Mann Vanna, was selling scarves and other clothing at a kiosk, while his artist father was eking a living off the sale of paintings.
Donations poured in for the family, and a wealthy Cambodian businessman became their benefactor.
He helped to move them to a terrace house in Phnom Penh, landed Mann a more stable job managing a clothing shop and cleared the family’s debt of about US$60,000 (S$80,000).
The famous video that was posted on Facebook in November 2018.
He also offered to sponsor Salik’s studies after the boy caught the eye of the founder of Hailiang Education Group, one of the largest players in China’s private school sector with more than 60,000 students and teachers from 23 countries.
“In (another) video, Salik said that he wanted to come to China, to (study in) Beijing — he likes Mandarin. So these few words touched the heart of my founder,” said Chen Junwei, the group’s current chairman and chief executive officer.
“He wanted to help Salik fulfil this dream.”
But the move almost did not materialise.
WINNING HIS PARENTS ROUND
Chen and several staff had flown to Cambodia to track Salik down and persuade the family to let him study at Hailiang on a scholarship.
Thuch Salik rose to fame after a video of him speaking multiple languages while selling souvenirs went viral. (Photo: Jack Board)
“(We) brought a lot of gifts, like our school uniform, bags, a bunch of stuff, and went to the hotel to meet him and his parents,” Chen recalled.
“We felt that Salik was very smart … very talented in something that not a lot of people can be. Also, Salik’s EQ is very high … Everyone liked him a lot after seeing him.”
Mann was reluctant, however, to let him go. She was “scared” and “concerned” that he was too young and would “find it hard to adapt” to life abroad, adding that he was “small and thin”, while China was “very cold”.
She and her husband were also sceptical about Hailiang’s scholarship offer, finding it too good to be true.
Chen and his staff had no choice but to return to China. Over the next couple of months, however, he kept negotiating with Salik’s parents, and even showed them around when they visited Hailiang to see the school for themselves.
WATCH: Cambodian boy who speaks 16 languages — life now, 2 years after viral video (6:34)
They almost had a change of heart, but warily decided against it after they returned home. When he thought his dream might be dashed, however, Salik “begged” them to reconsider.
Finally, the Hailiang team’s sincerity and his determination won his parents round. When they gave the green light to the move, “he was so happy and jumped around”, recalled Mann, 37. In May last year, he landed in Zhejiang.
Salik soon found that talented as he was in languages, he had a ways to go in other subjects like mathematics.
“When he came over, he should be in Secondary One. But his standards were only at the primary school level,” said Chen. “It was very hard for him to catch up in high school. But he was very diligent.”
He also had to get used to the cold. “Because the weather conditions changed, there were a lot of times when he clenched his teeth. But (he) slowly adapted,” observed Chen.
Thuch Salik (left) is attending the Hailiang Foreign Language School in Zhejiang, China. (Photo: Facebook/Thuch Salik)
To help him cope academically, Hailiang provided one-on-one teaching in his first year. “I started to catch up on my studies. Now, one year later, I can study with the other students,” he said proudly.
The school also got him a life coach to help him adapt fully to his new living conditions. There are even plans to send him to Beijing University upon graduation from Hailiang.
“We hope that he can continue to study and graduate with a PhD. During this whole process, (including) his expenditure on living expenses (and) education, we’ll support him fully,” said Chen.
“(With) a child like him, who’s so smart … forward-thinking and sensible, I believe that if he can complete his PhD in China and return to Cambodia, he may be able to influence the next generation.”
Thuch Salik (front, fourth from left) at the Hailiang school in Zhejiang province.
ANOTHER FORK IN THE ROAD
In January, when Salik returned home during the winter break, he was not to know, however, that he would have to remain in Cambodia because of the COVID-19 pandemic and China’s months-long freeze on direct international flights.
Hailiang then arranged for him to continue his education through online classes.
Meanwhile, his fame and “perseverance” caught the attention of local entertainment company First Unite Network (Fun) Entertainment.
The company’s event planning and artist manager, Utdom Sambo, said it also noticed Salik’s “skill in persuasion”, “good morals” and mindset as that of someone who would “educate” and “spread good deeds”.
“It's aligned with (our) vision," said Utdom, identifying these qualities as reasons to believe Salik makes a good “role model” as a member of Fun Entertainment and as its Goodwill Youth of Cambodia for “cultural exchange between China and Cambodia”.
Thuch Salik has become a star in Cambodia after his language skills were revealed. (Photo: Jack Board)
So Salik has been taking dance lessons, for example, as the company grooms him to be a celebrity. While building his local and overseas fan base, he participates in charity and social activities as well.
“Salik also has come to the company to learn about various soft skills, such as communication and video editing, as this is where his interest lies,” added Utdom.
“Because of his potential, we believe that he can run a successful business in future … The sales live-streaming, even just talking to fans — he can do it all really well.
“He’ll become a rare human resource in Cambodia.”
But his “main focus”, said Salik, is still on his education. He recognises that he has “many sponsors”, and he wants to “repay them by studying hard to help our country”.
WATCH: The full episode — what happened to them after going viral online? (47:27)
“If I were to guess, I think I’d become a businessman who brings in advanced technology and new things from overseas,” he said.
“I’ll create something … to bring into Cambodia, exporting and importing, (and) also to build the friendship between Cambodia and China.”
PHNOM PENH: Until he turned 14, Thuch Salik’s world revolved around the streets of Siem Reap, Cambodia, where he had to peddle trinkets and souvenirs to tourists to help support his parents.
Home was a shack outside Angkor Wat, and he only had time to go to school for half the day. But he loved to learn, and dreamt of pursuing his studies overseas in the face of poverty and debt.
Impossible as it seemed in 2018, the teenager found himself transplanted to a high-end school in China last year, the only Cambodian at the Hailiang Foreign Language School in Zhejiang province.
He was “a bit scared”, but he knew it was a “brilliant” opportunity.
“When I was in Siem Reap, we didn’t have good livelihoods,” he said. “I could only study in school. And after school, I helped my mum to sell stuff. And I had almost no time to play with my friends.
“Nowadays, there’s a lot more studying. After school, during my free time, I have a lot more friends to play with.”
Salik (front, third from left) with his schoolmates.
It is a turnaround arising from a viral video of him and his gift: He can speak 16 languages.
Having taken the Internet by storm, and with the ensuing change in his family’s fortunes, his ambitions are set to go further: Now 16, he hopes to be a businessman and give back to his homeland.
He is even being talent-groomed to burnish his star quality, on social media and maybe in business one day, the series Beyond The Viral Video discovers.
WORLD MEETS SALIK
It all began in November 2018 when Salik was speaking in Chinese to a Malaysian tourist while hawking his basket of souvenirs outside Angkor Wat.
Her interest piqued, she tried speaking to him in French. He replied fluently before continuing in Cantonese and then Japanese. He talked to her in 11 languages in all. He had learnt them over three years while peddling his trinkets.
Salik in 2018.
The tourist filmed their conversation, and the video she posted turned him into a global inspiration.
At the time, his mother, Mann Vanna, was selling scarves and other clothing at a kiosk, while his artist father was eking a living off the sale of paintings.
Donations poured in for the family, and a wealthy Cambodian businessman became their benefactor.
He helped to move them to a terrace house in Phnom Penh, landed Mann a more stable job managing a clothing shop and cleared the family’s debt of about US$60,000 (S$80,000).
The famous video that was posted on Facebook in November 2018.
He also offered to sponsor Salik’s studies after the boy caught the eye of the founder of Hailiang Education Group, one of the largest players in China’s private school sector with more than 60,000 students and teachers from 23 countries.
“In (another) video, Salik said that he wanted to come to China, to (study in) Beijing — he likes Mandarin. So these few words touched the heart of my founder,” said Chen Junwei, the group’s current chairman and chief executive officer.
“He wanted to help Salik fulfil this dream.”
But the move almost did not materialise.
WINNING HIS PARENTS ROUND
Chen and several staff had flown to Cambodia to track Salik down and persuade the family to let him study at Hailiang on a scholarship.
Thuch Salik rose to fame after a video of him speaking multiple languages while selling souvenirs went viral. (Photo: Jack Board)
“(We) brought a lot of gifts, like our school uniform, bags, a bunch of stuff, and went to the hotel to meet him and his parents,” Chen recalled.
“We felt that Salik was very smart … very talented in something that not a lot of people can be. Also, Salik’s EQ is very high … Everyone liked him a lot after seeing him.”
Mann was reluctant, however, to let him go. She was “scared” and “concerned” that he was too young and would “find it hard to adapt” to life abroad, adding that he was “small and thin”, while China was “very cold”.
She and her husband were also sceptical about Hailiang’s scholarship offer, finding it too good to be true.
Chen and his staff had no choice but to return to China. Over the next couple of months, however, he kept negotiating with Salik’s parents, and even showed them around when they visited Hailiang to see the school for themselves.
WATCH: Cambodian boy who speaks 16 languages — life now, 2 years after viral video (6:34)
They almost had a change of heart, but warily decided against it after they returned home. When he thought his dream might be dashed, however, Salik “begged” them to reconsider.
Finally, the Hailiang team’s sincerity and his determination won his parents round. When they gave the green light to the move, “he was so happy and jumped around”, recalled Mann, 37. In May last year, he landed in Zhejiang.
Salik soon found that talented as he was in languages, he had a ways to go in other subjects like mathematics.
“When he came over, he should be in Secondary One. But his standards were only at the primary school level,” said Chen. “It was very hard for him to catch up in high school. But he was very diligent.”
He also had to get used to the cold. “Because the weather conditions changed, there were a lot of times when he clenched his teeth. But (he) slowly adapted,” observed Chen.
Thuch Salik (left) is attending the Hailiang Foreign Language School in Zhejiang, China. (Photo: Facebook/Thuch Salik)
To help him cope academically, Hailiang provided one-on-one teaching in his first year. “I started to catch up on my studies. Now, one year later, I can study with the other students,” he said proudly.
The school also got him a life coach to help him adapt fully to his new living conditions. There are even plans to send him to Beijing University upon graduation from Hailiang.
“We hope that he can continue to study and graduate with a PhD. During this whole process, (including) his expenditure on living expenses (and) education, we’ll support him fully,” said Chen.
“(With) a child like him, who’s so smart … forward-thinking and sensible, I believe that if he can complete his PhD in China and return to Cambodia, he may be able to influence the next generation.”
Salik (front, fourth from left) at the Hailiang school in Zhejiang province.
ANOTHER FORK IN THE ROAD
In January, when Salik returned home during the winter break, he was not to know, however, that he would have to remain in Cambodia because of the COVID-19 pandemic and China’s months-long freeze on direct international flights.
Hailiang then arranged for him to continue his education through online classes.
Meanwhile, his fame and “perseverance” caught the attention of local entertainment company First Unite Network (Fun) Entertainment.
The company’s event planning and artist manager, Utdom Sambo, said it also noticed Salik’s “skill in persuasion”, “good morals” and mindset as that of someone who would “educate” and “spread good deeds”.
“It's aligned with (our) vision," said Utdom, identifying these qualities as reasons to believe Salik would make a good “role model” as a member of Fun Entertainment and its Goodwill Youth of Cambodia for “cultural exchange between China and Cambodia”.
Thuch Salik has become a star in Cambodia after his language skills were revealed. (Photo: Jack Board)
So Salik has been taking dance lessons, for example, as the company grooms him to be a celebrity. While building his local and overseas fan base, he participates in charity and social activities as well.
“Salik also has come to the company to learn about various soft skills, such as communication and video editing, as this is where his interest lies,” added Utdom.
“Because of his potential, we believe that he can run a successful business in future … The sales live-streaming, even just talking to fans — he can do it all really well.
“He’ll become a rare human resource in Cambodia.”
But his “main focus”, said Salik, is still on his education. He recognises that he has “many sponsors”, and he wants to “repay them by studying hard to help our country”.
WATCH: The full episode — what happened to them after going viral online? (47:27)
“If I were to guess, I think I’d become a businessman who brings in advanced technology and new things from overseas,” he said.
“I’ll create something … to bring into Cambodia, exporting and importing, (and) also to build the friendship between Cambodia and China.”
HONG KONG: Hong Kong media tycoon and Beijing critic Jimmy Lai was charged under a new national security law on Friday (Dec 11), accused of colluding with foreign forces.
Lai, an ardent critic of Beijing, became the most high profile person charged under the sweeping new law.
The law has been condemned by the West and human rights groups as a tool to crush dissent. Authorities in Hong Kong and Beijing say it is vital to plug gaping holes in national security defences exposed by months of sometimes violent protests that rocked the city over the last year.
News of the charges comes as authorities intensify a crackdown on opposition forces that has seen lawmakers dismissed and high-profile democracy activists such as Joshua Wong jailed.
Lai, 73, was charged "with one count of 'collusion with a foreign country or with external elements to endanger national security'", police said in a statement.
National security offences carry a maximum sentence of life in prison.
READ: Hong Kong national security law: 5 key facts you need to know
The publisher will appear in court on Saturday in relation to the national security charge, police said.
Lai is the owner of Hong Kong's best-selling Apple Daily, a popular tabloid that is unashamedly pro-democracy and fiercely critical of authorities.
Police raided the newspaper's headquarters in August and arrested a string of senior company figures, including Lai, on suspicion of "collusion with foreign forces" under the vaguely worded new law that Beijing imposed on Hong Kong.
He was denied bail earlier this month on a separate charge of fraud related to the lease of a building that houses Apple Daily. He is set to apply for bail on that charge at the High Court on Tuesday.
Lai had been a frequent visitor to Washington, where he has met officials, including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, to rally support for Hong Kong democracy, prompting Beijing to label him a "traitor".
He was being prosecuted for his alleged part in last year's anti-government rallies.
Prosecutors have tried bringing cases against him in the past.
He was acquitted in September of intimidating a reporter from a rival pro-government newspaper.
The corruption watchdog also dropped a case against him over political donations to supporters after four years of investigations.
Authorities deny targeting Apple Daily or Lai and said police are simply enforcing breaches of the law.
The pro-Beijing authorities in the finance hub have increasingly targeted prominent members of Hong Kong's democracy movement, including young leaders such as Joshua Wong and Agnes Chow, who were jailed last week.
The crackdown has provoked outrage in the West and fear for millions who last year took to the streets to protest China's tightening grip on the city.
Beijing says stability and order has been restored and has dismissed the huge crowds that protested as a foreign plot to destabilise China.
HONG KONG: Hong Kong has ordered 15 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine, split between China's Sinovac Biotech and Pfizer-BioNTech, twice the number of its residents, the city's leader Carrie Lam said on Friday (Dec 11).
The first batch of 1 million will arrive from China in January, while another million from Pfizer-BioNTech is due in the first quarter of next year.
The government aims for 30 million doses in total, as each person needs two injections to be fully vaccinated, and is also in talks to buy the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine. The latter is expected to arrive in the second half of next year.
Priority will be given to the elderly and other vulnerable categories, Lam said.
The former British colony has avoided the large outbreaks seen in other major cities around the world, reporting about 7,300 cases since January, with 114 deaths.
A senior Canadian border officer, whose team examined Meng Wanzhou before her arrest at Vancouver’s airport two years ago, was told by her superiors not to create more records about the case, because they might be accessed under freedom of information laws.Nicole Goodman, the Canada Border Services Agency’s chief of passenger operations at the airport, said she was told “that was probably not a good idea because evidence should be tested in court”, as she testified at Meng’s extradition case in the Supreme Court of British Columbia on Wednesday.Goodman described a meeting with her supervisor John Lindy and CBSA regional director general Roslyn MacVicar in late December 2018 or early January 2019. “It was in relation to creating records or additional information that may not be necessary. There were concerns with ATIP, access to information [and privacy],” she said.Get the latest insights and analysis from our Global Impact newsletter on the big stories originating in China.The meeting came after Meng’s arrest on December 1, 2018. Goodman said that she wanted to create a summary of Meng’s case, as a “kind of ‘lessons learned’” document. But MacVicar deterred her.She said she could not recall the exact wording, but “the context was ‘well we shouldn’t be creating additional records’,” said Goodman, before correcting herself to say “unnecessary, not additional” records. Will Biden fix Canada’s broken ties with China?Meng’s lawyers have depicted her treatment by the CBSA and Royal Canadian Mounted Police as an abuse of process, and part of a covert evidence-gathering exercise directed by the American Federal Bureau of Investigation.She should be freed as a result, they say.Meng, who is Huawei’s chief financial officer and the daughter of company founder Ren Zhengfei, is wanted by the US to face trial in New York. She is accused of defrauding HSBC by lying about Huawei’s business dealings with Iran, thus putting the bank at risk of breaching US sanctions on the Middle East country.She denies the charges and is living under partial house arrest in her Vancouver mansion.Under questioning by Diba Majzub, a Canadian government lawyer representing US interests in the case, Goodman denied that there was anything wrong about what she was told in the meeting with her bosses. Canada border officer ‘went white’ with shock at losing Meng’s passwords“It was not to conceal or suppress or hide anything. There’s nothing to hide,” she said. “We’re fully transparent, there’s nothing nefarious here. It’s just that additional information was maybe not necessary.”On Tuesday, Goodman had testified about finding out that a note with the passwords to Meng’s electronic devices had been lost by a colleague.The passwords were written on a loose piece of paper by border officer Scott Kirkland during the examination of Meng in the hours before her arrest. But it ended up in the hands of the RCMP – in breach of Canada’s privacy laws - when they arrested her on the US warrant.Under cross examination by Meng’s lawyer, Mona Duckett, Goodman said she found interactions involving the CBSA, RCMP and FBI the night before Meng’s arrival to be “routine”, so she had not taken notes.Duckett was incredulous. “I’m sorry, it’s routine for the FBI to be trying to coordinate a team of officers with Richmond and FSCOC? That’s routine?” she asked, referring to the Richmond RCMP detachment and the RCMP’s Federal and Serious Organised Crime unit. Canadian Mountie at centre of Meng case was elite officer in Hong KongWhatever the RCMP was doing was “not my concern”, responded Goodman. Inter-agency coordination happened regularly, and she “didn’t think anything of it at the time”.Duckett repeatedly questioned the accuracy of Goodman’s testimony. She asked if Goodman had tailored her evidence to match that of other officers, after reading about it on Twitter.“I don’t have Twitter,” said Goodman.Duckett also challenged “the purported quality of [Goodman’s] memory”, about phone calls in 2018, for which the officer took no notes. Duckett asked if it was possible Goodman was confusing when she had learned various things.“It’s a fair assessment,” Goodman said.Associate Chief Justice Heather Holmes adjourned the hearing until Thursday morning. Meng’s arrest triggered a collapse of China’s relations with Canada and the US.Thursday marks the two-year anniversary of China’s detention of Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, who Beijing accuses of espionage, but whose treatment is regarded by Canada’s government as hostage-taking, in retaliation for Meng’s arrest.Canada’s Ambassador Dominic Barton told a parliamentary committee on Tuesday that the two men were “both very healthy, physically and mentally”.Reports emerged last week that Meng had been negotiating with the US Department of Justice about a deal that would allow her to return home to China, under a deferred prosecution agreement. Such agreements typically require an admission of wrongdoing and some form of cooperation, in exchange for charges being dropped in the future.The reported negotiations have not been addressed in court.More from South China Morning Post: * Will Joe Biden fix Canada’s broken relations with China? It’s about more than Meng Wanzhou * Canadian Mountie at centre of Meng Wanzhou extradition storm was elite officer in Hong Kong * Canada border officer ‘went white’ with shock when he realised he had lost Meng Wanzhou’s device passwords, boss testifies * Meng Wanzhou: Canadian officer denies ‘cover-up’ and tailoring testimony about Meng’s phone information allegedly going to FBI * Canada border officer says giving police Meng Wanzhou’s device passwords was ‘embarrassing, heart-wrenching’ blunderThis article Meng Wanzhou hearing: Canada border boss warned officer not to create more records, in case they were accessed via information law first appeared on South China Morning PostFor the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2020.
SINGAPORE: Singapore will lift border restrictions for visitors from Taiwan from Dec 18, said the Civil Aviation Authority (CAAS) on Friday (Dec 11).
With immediate effect, travellers can apply for a single-entry Air Travel Pass (ATP) to enter Singapore from next Friday, said CAAS in a news release, adding that they must be in Taiwan for 14 consecutive days before departure.
Upon arrival, visitors will undergo a COVID-19 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test and if the result is negative, they will be allowed to go about their activities in Singapore without serving a stay-home notice.
As part of the contact tracing process, travellers from Taiwan must download and register for the TraceTogether app on their mobile devices before entering Singapore and keep it activated during their stay.
They must not delete it for 14 consecutive days after leaving Singapore.
They will also be responsible for their medical bills related to COVID-19 while in Singapore, said CAAS.
In an exclusive interview with CNA, Singapore's Transport Minister Ong Ye Kung said Taiwan is a "very safe partner to do a unilateral opening" with.
He cited how a few weeks ago, Taiwan unilaterally reduced the quarantine period for essential business travellers from Singapore to just five days.
Such travellers must also adhere to a controlled itinerary in Taiwan.
"That is the most relaxed rule they have imposed on any traveller and which they accorded Singapore as the lowest risk country," said Mr Ong.
"So with this unilateral opening, I think it's not bad, as a business traveller, you can go to Taiwan with five days quarantine. And then when you return with a test, there's no need for SHN (stay-home notice). So it's possible, hopefully we'll get a bit more to and fro between the two places."
From Dec 18, Singapore citizens, permanent residents and long-term pass holders returning from Taiwan will similarly undergo a PCR test upon arrival, said CAAS in its release.
This is in lieu of a seven-day stay-home notice. If the result is negative, they will be allowed to go about their activities in Singapore.
CAAS will also update the travel advisory to allow travel to Taiwan, and advised travellers from Singapore to check entry requirements imposed by Taiwan.
Currently, most travellers entering Taiwan have to present a negative COVID-19 nucleic acid test result issued within three days of their departure.
The announcement on Friday comes after earlier lifting of border restrictions for travellers from Australia, Brunei Darussalam, China, New Zealand and Vietnam.
CAAS said about 4,050 passengers from these countries have arrived in Singapore as of Dec 10 and none of the visitors under the ATP scheme have tested positive for COVID-19 upon arrival.
It has approved more than 9,250 ATP applications.
Taiwan has reported no local cases for more than 200 days. When asked why Taiwan was not one of the first places that Singapore unilaterally opened borders to, Mr Ong said: "There's no particular methodology to it, it is just what is suitable at that point in time.”
Likening the move to the gradual easing of the "circuit breaker" restrictions in Singapore, Mr Ong added: "We don't unilaterally open to every place, every country that has very low infection, even though we trust their system. But let's open bit by bit.
"So far, it has proceeded smoothly. That's not affected our infection rate in Singapore. So I think that was the right approach.
"But I think I am running out of places. I hope to have more places as vaccines come."
When asked if Singapore is pursuing an air travel bubble arrangement with Taiwan to allow general travellers to move between borders, Mr Ong said he would like to pursue such an arrangement with all the places the country has unilaterally opened to.
“I will be more than happy to have a travel bubble with all of them. Because we are comfortable with them. But it takes two hands to clap. Especially for the northern hemisphere - now they are going through winter. So winter is a sensitive period, you see these cases spike up … it is not a time when they are prepared to do this ... to try to establish an air travel bubble.”
Mr Ong also noted that until vaccines are widely available, many places are wary of exporting COVID-19 cases out of their territory, as this "will really diminish their international reputation".
"But things will change, winter will pass, vaccines will start ... When vaccines start to be deployed in various places, infection rates will come down and we will find that more places qualify for either unilateral opening or air travel bubble."
