The Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Commission should grant residency to stateless Tibetan refugees, the Taiwan Association for Human Rights said yesterday, also calling for the passage of a refugee act.
“There should be a system in place to determine whether people are stateless or refugees rather than dealing with them on a case-by-case basis. If their identity can be determined, they should be afforded protection,” association secretary-general Chiu E-ling (邱伊翎) said, adding that the current law affords no guarantees to the two groups.
Tibetan rights advocates and association members rallied outside the commission building in Taipei, demanding that residency be granted to 12 stateless Tibetans.
Chiu said the government had treated the 12 as illegal immigrants rather than as refugees or Tibetans in exile, when at least some of them had become trapped in the nation after their Nepalese passports were lost or expired.
There were also cases in which Tibetan’s Taiwanese spouses had divorced them, leaving them without identity papers, she said.
Tsultrim Thahchin — one of the 12 stateless Tibetans — said that some of them were forced to sleep on the streets and were unable to access medical treatment because of their status.
Nepal’s warming relations with China have led to Kathmandu implementing a more rigorous review of passport applications, including a recent declaration that it would not provide travel documents to Tibetan exiles, she said.
Lack of legal status also made them reluctant to report mistreatment in the workplace, he said.
Association office director Yen Szu-yu (顏思妤) said that while an amnesty had previously been granted to Tibetans who overstayed visas without residency rights, a sunset clause prevented those who arrived after 2008 from applying.
SHIPS, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES: The ministry has announced changes to varied transportation industries taking effect soon, with a number of effects for passengers Beginning next month, the post office is canceling signature upon delivery and written inquiry services for international registered small packets in accordance with the new policy of the Universal Postal Union, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday. The new policy does not apply to packets that are to be delivered to China, the ministry said. Senders of international registered small packets would receive a NT$10 rebate on postage if the packets are sent from Jan. 1 to March 31, it added. The ministry said that three other policies are also scheduled to take effect next month. International cruise ship operators
NUMBERS IMBALANCE: More than 4 million Taiwanese have visited China this year, while only about half a million Chinese have visited here Beijing has yet to respond to Taiwan’s requests for negotiation over matters related to the recovery of cross-strait tourism, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. Taiwan’s tourism authority issued the statement after Chinese-language daily the China Times reported yesterday that the government’s policy of banning group tours to China does not stop Taiwanese from visiting the country. As of October, more than 4.2 million had traveled to China this year, exceeding last year. Beijing estimated the number of Taiwanese tourists in China could reach 4.5 million this year. By contrast, only 500,000 Chinese tourists are expected in Taiwan, the report said. The report
The Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency yesterday launched a gift box to market honey “certified by a Formosan black bear” in appreciation of a beekeeper’s amicable interaction with a honey-thieving bear. Beekeeper Chih Ming-chen (池明鎮) in January inspected his bee farm in Hualien County’s Jhuosi Township (卓溪) and found that more than 20 beehives had been destroyed and many hives were eaten, with bear droppings and paw prints near the destroyed hives, the agency said. Chih returned to the farm to move the remaining beehives away that evening when he encountered a Formosan black bear only 20m away, the agency said. The bear
Chinese embassy staffers attempted to interrupt an award ceremony of an international tea competition in France when the organizer introduced Taiwan and displayed the Republic of China flag, a Taiwanese tea farmer said in an interview published today. Hsieh Chung-lin (謝忠霖), chief executive of Juxin Tea Factory from Taichung's Lishan (梨山) area, on Dec. 2 attended the Teas of the World International Contest held at the Peruvian embassy in Paris. Hsieh was awarded a special prize for his Huagang Snow Source Tea by the nonprofit Agency for the Valorization of Agricultural Products (AVPA). During the ceremony, two Chinese embassy staffers in attendance
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