The recent Kenya deportation incident has sparked heated debates. A netizen named “Lin Li” shared his past experience during a business trip to the Middle East, jokingly calling himself the Taiwanese version of The Terminal (minus the Catherine Zeta-Jones romance).
While the Republic of China (R.O.C.) has indeed faced an awkward diplomatic position since withdrawing from the UN in 1971, we believe that identifying with and taking pride in our own nation is the first step to standing firm on the international stage.
Editor’s Note:
After sharing this story, some readers pointed out logical inconsistencies. Extensive searches for “Dubai Airport passport incidents” in 2010 and 2011 yielded no matching news reports. Therefore, we have categorized this as a fictional piece. However, because it reflects the real-world frustrations of R.O.C. travelers, we have kept it for reference.
The Story: ‘The Terminal’ in Dubai
Deportations like the Kenya incident happen all the time. Taiwan? China? “Fake passport”? Seeing news of eight Taiwanese being forcibly taken to China via China Southern Airlines reminded me of a diplomatic embarrassment in Dubai back in 2010.
I was in line at a boarding gate in Dubai, preparing for a flight to Africa. Suddenly, a fierce-looking female officer of Indian descent approached me. She asked if I was “Mr. Lin from China.” I replied, “I am Mr. Lin from Taiwan, not China.” (In my experience, Chinese nationals were often unwelcome due to illegal immigration issues).
She pulled me out of line. Two Arab officers dragged me into a small office. Inside were a white man claiming to be a British policeman, the Indian woman, and five Arab officers.
They sat me down under bright lights. “Where did you find him?” the Brit asked. “He almost escaped on the plane! I caught him at the gate,” the woman replied.
Finally, I realized the problem: my Republic of China (R.O.C.) passport. They believed I was holding a counterfeit “Chinese (China) passport.” Again, the “R.O.C.” label caused trouble. I tried to explain: “I am from Taiwan. My passport is green, issued by the government of the Republic of China (Taiwan). A Chinese passport is reddish-brown, issued by the People’s Republic of China. We are different.”
They didn’t care. They insisted I disclose the source of this “fake Chinese passport.” It was a legitimate document issued by our Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), with over 20 stamps and two U.S. visas. They confiscated it and left me outside.
I tried to call our MOFA office. The recording said: “Today is a holiday. Please call back during office hours on Monday. Thank you.” Our global emergency service was no better. Finally, I reached a secretary at the R.O.C. representative office in Dubai.
He arrived five hours later, after complaining about having to cut his family shopping trip short. His “investigation” involved asking me if I spoke Hokkien and the name of our president. After 10 minutes of talking to the Arab officers, he turned to me with a grim face: “Good luck. I can’t do anything more. My kids are waiting for dinner. If anyone asks, tell them I showed up, okay?”
He left. I spent 12 days living in the airport.
By day 12, I had become a regular at the duty-free shops. Finally, I was told I could leave—not to Africa, but to be deported. They took my fingerprints, blood, and urine samples.
The Indian officer handed back my passport. “We still suspect this is a fake China passport. You are banned from entry for a year. You will be sent back to China.” I shouted, “I am from Taiwan! Send me to Taiwan!” She smirked. “You used a fake China passport. Jurisdiction belongs to the Chinese government. We are sending you back to your port of origin: Hong Kong. Hong Kong is China. You should know that.”
I realized then that as long as I reached Hong Kong, I would be safe. But the ordeal left me wondering: why must a Taiwan (Taiwanese) passport always be entangled with “China”?