Foreigners right to public performance has suddenly become a major issue among Taipei’s expatriates, since two music venues received summons from the Department of Labor (DOL) to explain performances by foreign musicians within the last month. Expat musicians and theater troupes are clearly worried. Performances have been cancelled or postponed. The looming questions are: How does one perform legally? And if I am caught performing, will I be deported?
To those worried about the deportation issue, my quick answer — to paraphrase Hamlet — is as follows: All is not well. Don’t worry.
If you have an APRC (alien permanent resident certificate) or a spousal visa, you are fine. Perform away. You are legal. If not, yes, you could be deported, even if the gig is unpaid. Unfortunately, that is the law. In the last decade, there are a handful of examples of foreigners who have been kicked out of Taiwan for performing without a work permit. It probably won’t happen, but it could happen.
Photo Courtesy of The Wall Music
To be on the safe side, I would recommend applying for performance permits, especially in the case of events with a reasonable amount of publicity, including on Facebook. This can be done through The Workforce Development Agency (www.wda.gov.tw; tel: 02-8995-6000), though do not expect to find any relevant English info on their Web site.
What is the danger? Is there a sting going on? That is more difficult to say.
The authorities maintain that in the two recent cases, they are simply reacting to complaints. They have not demonstrated a strong desire to exact harsh punishments.
One of the cases involved New Zealander Greggory Russell, who organized a performance of three expat bands on May 24 at The Park, a local live house. Russell has been in Taiwan for more than a decade, frequently moonlighting as a drummer, event organizer and promoter.
According to Russell, the complaint was made two days before the show, and Department of Labor investigators were secretly in the audience. Investigators however did not interfere with the show or conduct any on-site ID checks or inspections. Days later they contacted Russell and The Park’s management to come in and provide an explanation. ID copies of several legal performers (APRC holders) were provided, and the investigation was quickly closed, wrapping up two days ago.
“The case manager was really helpful and it seems like she just wants to close this case ASAP,” said Russell. “She said they have known about this for years, but have never warranted it as a major importance. They don’t really want to make this trouble for us.”
One can imagine a mass deportation of English teachers — who also happen to be amateur musicians — would make a juicy news story, one that may not look good for the authorities. The recent case of Krystyna Jensen tells us as much. Visa regulations left Jensen unable to stay in Taiwan upon college graduation, even though she had lived most of her life here and both parents were legal (foreign) residents. The story of Jensen’s impending family breakup hit the news, and regulations were amended within months, allowing the girl to stay.
The case of musicians is not as compelling, though similar in principle. Amateur musicians are usually community members in good standing, often teachers, who also happen to enjoy playing music to a few dozen of their friends on weekends, generally for little or no money. Should Taiwanese authorities kick them out en masse for their favored pastime?
The problem for the Taipei City Department of Labor, however, is that the law is the law, and it must do its job, especially when it receives complaints.
THE LAW
In light of the recent scare, Live Wire directed a group of questions on foreign performances to the DOL agency tasked with investigation and enforcement, the Taipei City Foreign and Disabled Labor Office (台北市勞動力重建運用處), headed Chen Hui-chi (陳惠琪).
Chen’s office provided lengthy replies by e-mail. Though mostly quoting regulations, this official response included the following explanation: “The Department has recently received a number of citizen complaints against foreigners illegally engaging in performance work at various venues. In order to uphold the rule of law, protect work opportunities for the people of this nation, and to guarantee the rights of legally working foreigners, regulations demand that we dispatch officials to investigate.”
There are several worrying factors. Who is filing the complaints? Such complaints generally come from people seeking private revenge against individuals or venues, and the law is empowering their behavior. It’s like a movie in which cops shake down a business owner for “undocumented workers,” only here the “illegals” are not Mexican dishwashers, they are Canadian trombone players or French jazz drummers.
Several expats are now actively discussing these problems and how to lobby for change. When it comes time to approach the government, the major issues should be, first, Taiwan needs to honor the basic right of freedom of expression, and second, current regulations fail to discriminate between amateur and professional musicians.
According to the DOL, the nature of “work” is defined as irrelevant of contract or compensation scheme, and “in instances where foreigners provide services or work, whether paid or unpaid, it still counts as such.”
Any musical performance by a foreign national is clearly considered to be “work.”
These work regulations however run counter to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which Taiwan has signed and pledged to uphold. The covenant states, “Everyone shall have the right to freedom of expression; this right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any other media of his choice.”
As a signatory, Taiwan has committed to conforming to meet these standards. The rights of foreign musicians are one area where it clearly lags behind.
When it comes to payment, that is a practical matter and should be expedited accordingly. At present, anyone can receive “royalty payments” (稿費) for freelance writing or speaking fees of up to NT$180,000 per year, tax free. What’s more, no tax is deducted as long as individual payments are NT$5,000 or less. Why not do the same for amateur musicians?
If there were convenient solutions to these problems, the foreign community would happily comply. Without them, foreign performers remain at risk, and the government courts an ugly scandal.
DEERHOOF
Don’t worry, the San Francisco math rockers are fully legal. Big venues like The Wall make a point of following the rules. Deerhoof’s set at last summer’s Formoz Festival was nerd rock heaven, and there are certainly enough rocker nerds to welcome them back just a year later. If you are into their brand of herky-jerky, cut-up postmodern rock, this should be good fun.
Deerhoof plays with Skip Skip Ben Ben tomorrow at 8pm at The Wall, B1, 200 Roosevelt Rd Sec 4,Taipei City (台北市羅斯福路四段200號B1). Tickets are NT$1,500, or NT$1,300 in advance.
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