License shambles keeps foreigners off the roads

Foreign residents have expressed dissatisfaction with the outcome of a well-publicized legal case in which US citizen Richard Hartzell (何瑞元) last month won the right to obtain a six-year local driver's license.

Diane Baker, a US citizen living in Taipei for the past 13 years, said Hartzell's case had been an exception and had not led to a change in the legislation which requires foreigners to renew their driver's license every year.

"How could they [the Motor Vehicle Supervision Department] (MVSD, 監理處) release the six-year driver's license to the one who went to appeal?" Baker said. "How about the others who cannot be bothered to go through the ordeal [of an appeal]."

Baker said that when she first applied for a driver's license in 1991, it had been issued for seven years. But when it came up for renewal in 1998, it was "only good for one year."

Baker is not alone in her frustrations.

Prior to a change in the law in 1998, any foreigner residing in Taiwan with a legitimate alien resident certificate (ARC) was eligible to apply for a driver's license good for six years -- the same as local Taiwanese citizens.

The law was changed by the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) to prevent foreigners who stay in Taiwan illegally from using their driver's licenses as their identification cards.

Under the new law a foreigner's driver's license expires at the same time as his or her ARC.

In Hartzell's case, he had to have his driver's license renewed every year because his ARC was valid for just one year.

However, Baker's situation is different.

"My ARC is valid for two years, but they insisted on issuing me a driver's license only good for one year. The implementation of the regulation really depends on who processes your papers. Results may vary according to different time and people. It is ridiculous," said Baker.

Hartzell's victory was not gained easily. He went through three appeals before he earned his six-year driver's license. Though he actually won his case in the first two petitions at the Taipei City government's Commission for Examining and Petitions and Appeals (CEPA, 訴願審議委員會), it was not until he won his third appeal that the MVSD agreed to give him a license valid for six years.

"The existing regulation is merely an administrative order, which lacks any legal binding. We therefore thought there was room for Hartzell to argue. Based on the principle of international mutual benefits, there should not be any grounds to have such a restriction on the issuance of driver's licenses to foreign residents in Taiwan," said a CEPA official.

Documents show that there are no restrictions in the US to restrain the issuance of driver's licenses to Taiwanese residing in the US. Any Taiwanese, as long as he/she is a legal resident of the country, is qualified to apply for an American driver's license.

Hsu Hsiu-lung (徐秀龍), an official of the Taipei Bureau of Transportation -- the direct supervisory unit of the MVSD -- said they had handled the case based on MOTC regulations.

"But ironically, the CEPA stood up for the petitioner. How can we enforce the law in the future if we can not stand our ground by observing the regulations?" added Hsu.

The case highlights the sometimes contradictory stances between the central and local governments in terms of law enforcement.