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 first two F-16V Bock 70 jets purchased from the US are expected to arrive in Taiwan around Double Ten National Day, which is on Oct. 10, a military source said yesterday. Of the 66 F-16V Block 70 jets purchased from the US, the first completed production in March, the source said, adding that since then three jets have been produced per month. Although there were reports of engine defects, the issue has been resolved, they said. After the jets arrive in Taiwan, they must first pass testing by the air force before they would officially become Taiwan’s property, they said. The air force
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday said it had deployed patrol vessels to expel a China Coast Guard ship and a Chinese fishing boat near Pratas Island (Dongsha Island, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. The China Coast Guard vessel was 28 nautical miles (52km) northeast of Pratas at 6:15am on Thursday, approaching the island’s restricted waters, which extend 24 nautical miles from its shoreline, the CGA’s Dongsha-Nansha Branch said in a statement. The Tainan, a 2,000-tonne cutter, was deployed by the CGA to shadow the Chinese ship, which left the area at 2:39pm on Friday, the statement said. At 6:31pm on Friday,
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, would pose a steep challenge to Taiwan’s ability to defend itself against a full-scale invasion, a defense expert said yesterday. Institute of National Defense and Security Research analyst Chieh Chung (揭仲) made the comment hours after the PLAN confirmed the carrier recently passed through the Taiwan Strait to conduct “scientific research tests and training missions” in the South China Sea. China has two carriers in operation — the Liaoning and the Shandong — with the Fujian undergoing sea trials. Although the PLAN needs time to train the Fujian’s air wing and
STRIKE: Some travel agencies in Taiwan said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group tours to the country were proceeding as planned A planned strike by airport personnel in South Korea has not affected group tours to the country from Taiwan, travel agencies said yesterday. They added that they were closely monitoring the situation. Personnel at 15 airports, including Seoul’s Incheon and Gimpo airports, are to go on strike. They announced at a news conference on Tuesday that the strike would begin on Friday next week and continue until the Mid-Autumn Festival next month. Some travel agencies in Taiwan, including Cola Tour, Lion Travel, SET Tour and ezTravel, said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group
RSS