Several university students from Hong Kong and Macau yesterday asked the Ministry of Education to simplify the administrative procedure they have to go through before being allowed to leave Taiwan.
Bearing posters and a petition signed by more than 1,000 college students from across the country, students from Hong Kong and Macau studying at universities in Taiwan were joined by Taiwanese classmates in asking to be granted the right to leave the country freely like students from other countries.
“At the moment, when we [students from Hong Kong and Macau] want to leave Taiwan, we have to get permission from the school, then apply for permission to leave the country from the National Immigration Agency [NIA],” said Sou Ka Hou (蘇嘉豪), a University of Taiwan student from Macau, at a brief press conference in front of the ministry’s building in Taipei.
Photo: CNA
“On average, it takes three to four days for the school to issue the permission, and the process is further delayed if the application is made before holidays,” Sou said.
Sou said that in April, the mother of a student from Macau passed away, “but he could not go home immediately to attend his mother’s funeral because it was spring break, had to wait until spring break was over to file the application for permission from the school.”
Sou said he was aware that the ministry had created an emergency procedure for Hong Kong and Macau students, but added that the policy is not in place in every school.
Sou added that, since student visas for Hong Kong and Macau students are only valid for three years, it creates a lot of trouble for students in their fourth year at university or in graduate school.
The students were invited into the ministry, where they met with the ministry’s director of mainland affairs, Liu Chih-min (劉智敏), who pledged his help.
“We will negotiate with the NIA to see if students from Hong Kong and Macau can be allowed to apply directly to the agency to leave the country without having to go through their schools in case of emergencies,” Liu said. “As for completely removing the requirement for school permission or extending the students’ visa, that would require a revision of immigration laws. However, we would be glad to discuss this with the relevant government agencies.”
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
AMENDMENT: Contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau must be reported, and failure to comply could result in a prison sentence, the proposal stated The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) yesterday voted against a proposed bill by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers that would require elected officials to seek approval before visiting China. DPP Legislator Puma Shen’s (沈伯洋) proposed amendments to the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), stipulate that contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau should be reported, while failure to comply would be punishable by prison sentences of up to three years, alongside a fine of NT$10 million (US$309,041). Fifty-six voted with the TPP in opposition
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai