According to Taiwan’s legal framework, the Republic of China’s sovereign territory is defined as the “Taiwan Area” and the “Mainland Area.” Immigration controls for people entering and leaving the “Taiwan Area” from the “Mainland Area” are governed by the Immigration Act (入出國及移民法).
Under it is the Act on Permission for Entrance of People of the Mainland Area into the Taiwan Area (大陸地區人民進入台灣地區許可辦法), enacted by the Ministry of the Interior, which sets out specific rules for “mainland Chinese” entering Taiwan.
Article 5 of that second act stipulates that “Residents from the Mainland Area applying to enter the Taiwan Area must carry a Mainland Area passport or certification valid for a least six months, a Mainland Area identification card or a photocopy of other documentation that can serve as valid proof of their status.”
Political refugees from China, exiled Tibetans and refugees from Southern Mongolia and East Turkestan who have had their passport revoked by the Chinese government because they are opposed to the People’s Republic of China (PRC), applying for permission to enter Taiwan should, according to these rules, be able to show photocopies of “documentation that can serve as valid proof of their status.”
However, after Guo Baosheng (郭寶勝) and Tang Boqiao (唐柏橋), who both took part in China’s democracy movement, openly complained of the difficulty in obtaining Taiwanese visas, it was revealed that former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) had issued an order that immigration officials should only accept valid PRC passports or identity cards from Chinese traveling to Taiwan.
Refugees were in reviewed on a case-by-case basis, taking into account political considerations.
The Democratic Progressive Party government proposed a draft refugee act while in opposition, but that bill does not recognize Chinese as having refugee status.
Additionally, the government has yet to amend the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例) to include a clause on Chinese refugees. As a result, the problem of how to deal with refugees from China remains unresolved.
The way to resolve this issue lies not in drafting new legislation, but in the administrative process, partly by first recognizing proof of refugee status issued by the UN and other major nations, and second by establishing an impartial and transparent vetting procedure that invites representatives from human rights organizations or experts to assist in the decisionmaking process.
To ask that Chinese refugees carry valid PRC identification documents is putting refugees in a difficult position.
Furthermore, it is a contradiction for the government to, on the one hand, maintain that refugees from China are residents of the “Mainland Area,” while on the other recognize them as citizens of the PRC.
The government cannot continue to remain indifferent and aloof to the plight of Chinese refugees — will it be able to find a solution?
Tseng Chien-yuan is an associate professor in Chung Hua University’s Department of Public Administration.
Translated by Edward Jones
Saudi Arabian largesse is flooding Egypt’s cultural scene, but the reception is mixed. Some welcome new “cooperation” between two regional powerhouses, while others fear a hostile takeover by Riyadh. In Cairo, historically the cultural capital of the Arab world, Egyptian Minister of Culture Nevine al-Kilany recently hosted Saudi Arabian General Entertainment Authority chairman Turki al-Sheikh. The deep-pocketed al-Sheikh has emerged as a Medici-like patron for Egypt’s cultural elite, courted by Cairo’s top talent to produce a slew of forthcoming films. A new three-way agreement between al-Sheikh, Kilany and United Media Services — a multi-media conglomerate linked to state intelligence that owns much of
The US and other countries should take concrete steps to confront the threats from Beijing to avoid war, US Representative Mario Diaz-Balart said in an interview with Voice of America on March 13. The US should use “every diplomatic economic tool at our disposal to treat China as what it is... to avoid war,” Diaz-Balart said. Giving an example of what the US could do, he said that it has to be more aggressive in its military sales to Taiwan. Actions by cross-party US lawmakers in the past few years such as meeting with Taiwanese officials in Washington and Taipei, and
The Republic of China (ROC) on Taiwan has no official diplomatic allies in the EU. With the exception of the Vatican, it has no official allies in Europe at all. This does not prevent the ROC — Taiwan — from having close relations with EU member states and other European countries. The exact nature of the relationship does bear revisiting, if only to clarify what is a very complicated and sensitive idea, the details of which leave considerable room for misunderstanding, misrepresentation and disagreement. Only this week, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) received members of the European Parliament’s Delegation for Relations
Denmark’s “one China” policy more and more resembles Beijing’s “one China” principle. At least, this is how things appear. In recent interactions with the Danish state, such as applying for residency permits, a Taiwanese’s nationality would be listed as “China.” That designation occurs for a Taiwanese student coming to Denmark or a Danish citizen arriving in Denmark with, for example, their Taiwanese partner. Details of this were published on Sunday in an article in the Danish daily Berlingske written by Alexander Sjoberg and Tobias Reinwald. The pretext for this new practice is that Denmark does not recognize Taiwan as a state under