The Ministry of the Interior yesterday announced the introduction of a system of uniform ID numbers for foreigners living in Taiwan, designed to make it easier for them to receive government services.
The new codes would provide foreigners with a single means of identification applicable throughout the public sector and likely to be adopted by much of the private sector too.
Foreigners will be able to use the ID numbers much as the Taiwanese use the numbers on their national ID cards. This is expected to reduce paperwork and dispense with the need for secondary proof of identification.
The new practice merges the two separate systems now used for Chinese nationals and other foreigners. The ID numbers will be issued to the bearer for life.
The new ID number will be issued to Chinese nationals who have applied to come to Taiwan to reunite with their families or work; PRC, Hong Kong and Macau citizens who have applied for resident certificates; aliens who have applied for the Alien Resident Certificate or the Alien Permanent Resident Certificate; and PRC nationals or aliens who are required to pay taxes.
Some 600,000 people in Taiwan, including brides and professionals from China, are estimated to be affected by the new ID number, according to the National Police Administration (NPA).
It is expected that the new number will be required by landlords and will serve as a health insurance and taxation number.
They will probably also be used to apply for water, electricity, gas and telephone services, bank accounts, transport tickets and hospital admissions.
The new codes have 10 figures -- eight numbers and two letters -- which include codes for the residential area at the time of registration and gender.
The new 10-figure codes have been issued to applicants for Alien Residence Certificates since April this year.
The NPA has assigned the new 10-figure numbers to all other eligible foreigners and Chinese nationals, who will get them when they apply for a new resident certificate.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique