The Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Commission (MTAC) said yesterday that those who were not confirmed as having Tibetan refugee status by the commission earlier this year — and who have been on a hunger strike since Monday — are simply not Tibetans.
Earlier this year, 78 of 134 people who claimed to be Tibetan refugees living in Taiwan without proper documents received confirmation of their status as Tibetans from MTAC, and were quickly granted residency by the National Immigration Agency (NIA) following amendments to the Immigration Act (入出國及移民法).
MTAC Chief Secretary Chien Shih-yin (錢世英) told the Taipei Times that the entire confirmation process follows a strict set of procedures, including verifying identity documents with the issuing governments, checking references and doing interviews.
However, around 30 of those who failed to pass the MTAC review began a hunger strike outside the commission on Monday, accusing it of applying double standards when reviewing the cases.
“All 134 people were given temporary residency last year as Tibetans after MTAC’s review, but some of them were denied this year. What are the criteria?” Taiwan Tibetan Welfare Association chairman Jamga asked. “Also, there are even two brothers, where the elder brother was granted residency, while the younger brother wasn’t — how is this possible?”
One of the protestors, Deu Bahadur Tamang, admitted that he doesn’t speak Tibetan, but insisted that he was born in Tibet and went into exile in Nepal with his parents when he was only three.
“My parents died when I was kid, and I grew up in a Nepalese community, so I don’t speak Tibetan, but I am a Tibetan,” he said, adding that he was on a short trip to Taiwan organized by MTAC for Tibetans in Nepal in 1994.
“If they considered me a Tibetan then, why am I not now?” Tamang said.
MTAC said that Tamang did not pass the review because the documents he provided were obviously altered.
In a statement released on Thursday night, MTAC denied that there were double standards, and insisted that those protesting were simply not classed as Tibetans.
“These people, of unknown nationalities, cannot be verified as Tibetans,” the statement said. “Since they are not Tibetans, they are considered people of foreign nationalities or stateless people residing in Taiwan, and we urge the NIA to handle any issues related to such people according to the law.”
The statement went on to explain that these people did not receive verification of their Tibetan status because they either provided forged documents, false references or do not have a fundamental knowledge of the Tibetan language or Tibetan culture.
Meanwhile, the Democratic Progressive Party caucus plans to propose a resolution next week to extend the temporary residency — which ends on Dec. 29 — of the people who did not receive verification of Tibetan status for another year so there is more time to resolve the issue.
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