In order to allow certain individuals born before 1982 gain Taiwanese citizenship, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) yesterday said she would push for changes in the Nationality Law (國籍法).
Revisions made in 2000 to Article 2 of the law allowed children with one Taiwanese and one foreign parent to obtain Republic of China citizenship, but the revisions only covered people who were children at the time, meaning that the revisions offered nothing to people born before 1982.
PHOTO: LIAO CHEN-HUI, TAIPEI TIMES
Hsiao, who herself is the product of a cross-cultural marriage, said that her wish to revise the law is inspired by the case of George Laverne Jennings, a 28-year old man who, despite having a Taiwanese mother and having lived in Taiwan most of his life, has not been able to obtain Taiwanese citizenship.
Jennings -- or "Little Black," as he is affectionately known to his Taiwanese friends -- is the child of an African-American father and a Taiwanese woman.
He has lived in Taiwan for 19 years and speaks fluent Taiwanese and Chinese. Because his father was American and because he himself was an adult before the law was revised in 2000, Jennings cannot claim Taiwanese citizenship.
Jennings has US citizenship, but is in limbo regarding his status in Taiwan. He does not have a national identity card because he and his mother neglected to fill out forms regarding his stay in the country when he was in high school. Without an identity card, he has been unable to hold a regular job.
At the time that Jennings came to Hsiao's attention, Jennings had overstayed by eight years his legally-sanctioned stay in Taiwan and was facing deportation.
Thanks to the help of local politicians including Hsiao, Jennings has been given an exemption and will be able to stay in Taiwan.
Returning from a brief trip from Hong Kong yesterday, Jennings said that he would begin taking language classes at Feng-chia University.
"I am already a Taiwanese," Jennings said.
"As long as I can get a national identity card, I am even willing to do military service," he said.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) is to launch a new program to encourage international students to stay in Taiwan and explore job opportunities here after graduation, Deputy Minister of Education Yeh Ping-cheng (葉丙成) said on Friday. The government would provide full scholarships for international students to further their studies for two years in Taiwan, so those who want to pursue a master’s degree can consider applying for the program, he said. The fields included are science, technology, engineering, mathematics, semiconductors and finance, Yeh added. The program, called “Intense 2+2,” would also assist international students who completed the two years of further studies in
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) departed for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark. Tsai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Friday night, but did not speak to reporters before departing. Tsai wrote on social media later that the purpose of the trip was to reaffirm the commitment of Taiwanese to working with democratic allies to promote regional security and stability, upholding freedom and democracy, and defending their homeland. She also expressed hope that through joint efforts, Taiwan and Europe would continue to be partners building up economic resilience on the global stage. The former president was to first
Taiwan will now have four additional national holidays after the Legislative Yuan passed an amendment today, which also made Labor Day a national holiday for all sectors. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) used their majority in the Legislative Yuan to pass the amendment to the Act on Implementing Memorial Days and State Holidays (紀念日及節日實施辦法), which the parties jointly proposed, in its third and final reading today. The legislature passed the bill to amend the act, which is currently enforced administratively, raising it to the legal level. The new legislation recognizes Confucius’ birthday on Sept. 28, the
The Taipei District Court sentenced babysitters Liu Tsai-hsuan (劉彩萱) and Liu Jou-lin (劉若琳) to life and 18 years in prison respectively today for causing the death of a one-year-old boy in December 2023. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said that Liu Tsai-hsuan was entrusted with the care of a one-year-old boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), in August 2023 by the Child Welfare League Foundation. From Sept. 1 to Dec. 23 that year, she and her sister Liu Jou-lin allegedly committed acts of abuse against the boy, who was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries on Dec. 24, 2023, but did not
RSS