Regulations on foreigners who have made "special contributions" to Taiwan have recently been expanded to allow more people to qualify for permanent residency, according to the Foreign Affairs Police.
In 2002, the Ministry of the Interior established regulations allowing foreigners who have made special contributions or those with technological know-how to attain permanent residency in Taiwan.
However, the definition of "special contributions" was listed as those who have been given an award from the Presidential Office or one of the Five Yuans (the Executive, Legislative, Judicial, Examination or Control Yuan), those who have participated in international competitions and received gold medals, Nobel Prize winners, and those who serve as important role models.
With such definitions, long-time foreign environmental and human rights activists living in the country, such as Linda Arrigo and Lynn Miles, have not been able to fulfill permanent residency requirements under "special contributions" or "high-tech personnel" when applying.
Miles arrived in Taiwan in 1962 and aided political dissidents during the Martial Law era. He was deported in 1971, but returned later.
Arrigo was the wife of former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) chairman Shi Ming-teh (施明德) and an activist for the DPP in the party's early years. She first came to Taiwan in 1963 and was deported in 1979 after her then-husband was arrested.
While abroad, she spoke up for human rights and denounced the former KMT regime. She now lives in Taiwan and is the international affairs officer of the Green Party in Taiwan.
The interior ministry, acknowledging the achievements of Arrigo and Miles, held a series of meetings and came up with amendments at the end of last month which would allow foreigners who have made contributions in a wider range of fields to obtain permanent residency.
Under "special contributions," a new definition was added so that "those who have contributed to areas such as democracy, human rights, religion, education, culture, art, economy, medicine, or sports" will be eligible to attain permanent residency.
Foreigners who contribute to the promotion of Taiwan's international reputation may also qualify for permanent residency based on the new rules.
Foreign affairs police officials confirmed the amendments to the Taipei Times, but the interior ministry has yet to announce the new regulations.
Officials said that the new rules will be announced sometime this month.
Miles said that originally, foreigners wanting to obtain permanent residency had to have resided legally and continuously in Taiwan for more than 183 days in each of the seven years immediately prior to application.
However, although Miles has remained in the country for more than seven years, he overstayed his visa from April of 2003 to the end of last year, so did not fulfill the "legally residing" requirement.
Miles said he had received an e-mail from the Foreign Affairs Police last Tuesday telling him that he had been granted permanent residency.
"I feel great," Miles told the Taipei Times. "I now have lower tax rates, and can come and go as I please."
Arrigo is currently abroad and was not available for comment.
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