More than 10,000 overseas Chinese are expected to return to Taiwan to cast ballots in the March 20 election, the head of the Overseas Chinese Affairs Commission said yesterday.
Fielding questions at a Legislative Yuan committee meeting, commission Chairwoman Chang Fu-mei (
Chang said 1,323 of them still had legal residence in Taiwan.
"According to government regulations, they do not need to register with our representative offices abroad for the election. Excluding this group of people, 9,028 overseas Chinese who do not have their legal abode in Taiwan have registered to vote," she said.
In comparison, Chang said, only 2,800 overseas Chinese registered for the 2000 presidential election.
Chang said the increase indicated that overseas Chinese were very interested in the election.
Moreover, Chang said, the figure did not include those Taiwanese businesspeople operating in China who have a legal abode in Taiwan and who therefore do not need to register for the election.
Chang said the commission had consistently adopted a neutral and impartial attitude in encouraging overseas Chinese to return for the election.
"The commission has used many channels, including leaflets, the print media, the electronic media, the Internet and e-mail, to help prospective overseas Chinese voters better understand the technical details regarding the presidential poll and the referendum," Chang said.
She said the commission had also cooperated with the nation's overseas representative offices and overseas Chinese cultural centers in sponsoring seminars on election-related topics.
She accused China of distorting the referendum by labeling it a move to promote independence and of launching a publicity drive to sway the loyalty of overseas Chinese to Taiwan and other countries' support for Taiwan.
Despite this pressure from China, Chang said, the commission would continue to strengthen its services to overseas Chinese people based on the principles of "reform, innovation, foresight and pragmatism."
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