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Missionary promised help

Minister of the Interior Yu Cheng-hsien (余政憲) has promised to help a missionary who has devoted herself to Taiwan for more than 42 years obtain permanent residency.

Joyce McMillan, who works in central Taiwan, has been ordered to leave the country, but Yu has vowed to help her by amending the law, local media reported yesterday.

"The Ministry of the Interior has already amended the Immigration Law (入出國及移民法)," said Hsieh Ai-ling (謝愛齡), deputy director of the Population Administration Department (戶政司) under the ministry.

"Foreigners who have made significant contributions to Taiwan will be granted permanent residency after the amendment is examined by the Executive Yuan" Hsieh said.

McMillan -- better known by her Chinese name, Ma Hsi-le (瑪喜樂) -- is an 87-year-old Christian missionary. Along with an overseas medical group, she came to Changhua County from California in 1960 to preach Christianity and assist polio victims in central Taiwan.

After serving for a few years as a volunteer nurse at the Puli Christian Hospital (埔里基督教醫院), she established a nursing home for children with polio at the Erlin Christian Hospital in August 1965 in Changhua's Erlin (二林) Township. The nursing home has helped thousands of polio victims in the area.

Since the 1990s, McMillan and the nursing home, which is named after her, have been repeatedly honored by the government and awarded subsidies.

With a large amount of government help, she established a health center in March 1997 to provide better services for local patients.

Despite her great contribution to the nation over the past decades, however, she has been regularly forced to leave Taiwan because she lacks permanent residency.

Recently, she was fined NT$10,000 and was ordered to temporarily leave the country because she forgot the expiration date of her visa. McMillan left the country yesterday morning and is expected to return to Taiwan next month.

In an effort to avoid such problems in the future, the ministry on Wednesday submitted to the Cabinet an amendment to the Immigration Law that would reduce the number of consecutive days per year that foreigners must stay in Taiwan to be eligible for permanent residency.

According to the amendment, foreigners who have been in Taiwan for at least 183 consecutive days per year for seven consecutive years may apply for permanent residency.

The Immigration Law currently requires residence in Taiwan for at least 270 consecutive days per year for seven consecutive years.
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