If you’re a foreigner in Taiwan, you probably have a Alien Residence Certificate (ARC). This card allows foreigners to live here, and is about the size of a driver’s license (complete with photo and personal information). Anyways, Friday’s China Post revealed that new ARCs will be embedded with integrated circuit (IC) chips as an anti-terrorism measure.
I, for one, am just hoping that these ICs aren’t as flaky as the ones currently embedded in Taiwanese bank cards. Because I have had four (count ’em: 4) ATM cards crap out on me here within the last four months. Three in December ’06, and one in April ’07. PIN numbers reset from 7-digit phone numbers WELL-KNOWN TO ME, to Lord-knows-what.
Given that record of dependability, I suspect it’s only a matter of time before I’m apprehended by immigration officials at Taiwan-Taoyuan International Airport. As Mohammed Abu-Foreini of Khandahar.