About 100,000 Taiwanese have applied for residency in China since Beijing began issuing residency cards to Taiwanese working or living in China in September last year, Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chen Ming-tong (陳明通) said yesterday.
Chen was responding to questions from Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lin Li-chan (林麗蟬) about China’s residency card at a meeting of the Legislative Yuan in Taipei.
Beijing’s issuance of the cards to Taiwanese, as well as people from Hong Kong and Macau, who have been legally living, working or studying in China for more than six months, is seen by some as a political tactic to gain support among Taiwanese.
Photo: Peter Lo, Taipei Times
Chen added that Taiwanese who have acquired a Chinese residency card, but failed to report it to Taiwanese authorities could be fined NT$10,000 to NT$50,000 once the law is amended.
The MAC has an open mind regarding Taiwanese studying or working in China needing a residence permit, but they must register their card in Taiwan, he said.
However, China residency cardholders who return to Taiwan and seek to work in the public sector would have “to wait for a certain period,” Chen said, adding that the time frame is still being discussed.
The council has proposed an amendment 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), setting penalties and regulations constraining the citizenship of Taiwanese holding China residency cards.
The amendment bill is pending Cabinet approval prior to being delivered to the Legislative Yuan for review.
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