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Taiwanese in China may regain residential status

Taiwanese who lost their resident status after staying in China for over four years will be allowed to move back to Taiwan and will be given dual citizenship, said the Mainland Affairs Council yesterday.

"Taiwanese will be allowed to keep their Taiwanese resident status, even if they have Chinese resident status as well," said Lin Chong-pin (林中斌), vice chairman of the MAC.

According to the regulations passed in 1992, Taiwanese who live in China for over four years without visiting Taiwan automatically lose their Taiwanese resident status.

Taiwanese who change their minds after living in China for four years and then visit or move back to Taiwan face a complicated repatriation process. Veterans who immigrated to China are often kicked out by the Chinese government after they run out of money and have problems moving back.

"These veterans can contribute very little to China, since they are too old to do anything. The Chinese government always sends them to Hong Kong and bans them from moving back to China," said Johnnason Liu (劉德勳), director of the MAC's Legal Affairs Department.

The new regulation also allows an individual who was born in China, but whose father or mother has Taiwanese resident status, to apply for residency.

Councilors of the MAC evaluated China's domestic and foreign affairs in yesterday's meeting as well.

The MAC believes that China's entrance into the WTO and the success of its Olympic bid will help it to integrate into the world's economies. It said its unemployment and rural tax problems, however, are getting worse.

The MAC said that China continues trying to intimidate Taiwan through diplomatic isolation and military exercises while at the same time trying to win over some Taiwanese through various non-governmental exchanges.

The MAC's vice chairman, Lin, also pointed out that China is now more aggressive in promoting the idea of "one country, two systems" in Taiwan. Lin, however, declined to comment on how he believes China is capable of doing this in Taiwan.
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