The number of Hong Kongers applying for residency in Taiwan reached 892 last month, a monthly high for this year, National Immigration Agency (NIA) statistics showed.
The number increased 70 percent from 525 in the same period last year, after Beijing imposed national security legislation on Hong Kong on June 30. The law defines and prohibits acts of secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces.
As of last month, 4,775 Hong Kongers had filed for residency in Taiwan this year, the NIA statistics showed.
Photo: Bloomberg
From January to June, 710, 832, 784, 531, 495 and 531 Hong Kongers had filed for residency in Taiwan each month respectively, the statistics showed.
The annual number last year totaled 7,332 — a record high.
The rising trend could be attributed to a number of reasons, including similarities of culture and language, and the distance between Taiwan and Hong Kong, an agency official, who declined to be named, said yesterday.
The appeal of Taiwan’s greater democratic institutions is another reason, with several “unexpected tactics” used by Beijing to undermine Hong Kong’s pursuit of democracy in the past few years being the final straw, the official said.
Of the reasons given on residency applications from January to June, the top three were “to live with a Taiwanese blood relative or spouse,” “investment” and “work,” in that order.
Hong Kongers who have spent one year on a temporary residency permit in Taiwan, and have been outside the nation for less than 30 days, or have spent two consecutive years in Taiwan and have been in the nation for more than 270 days each year, are eligible for permanent residency, the agency said.
Only those who have acquired permanent residency can proceed with household registration and apply for a National Identification Card, it added.
The International Industrial Talents Education Special (INTENSE) Program to attract foreigners to study and work in Taiwan will provide scholarships and a living allowance of up to NT$440,000 per person for two years beginning in August, Minister of Education Pan Wen-chung (潘文忠) told a meeting of the legislature’s Education and Culture Committee yesterday. Pan was giving an update on the program’s implementation, a review of universities’ efforts to recruit international students and promotion of the Taiwan Huayu Bilingual Exchanges of Selected Talent (BEST) program. Each INTENSE Program student would be awarded a scholarship of up to NT$100,000 per year for up to
BASIC OPERATIONS: About half a dozen navy ships from both countries took part in the days-long exercise based on the Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea An unpublicized joint military exercise between Taiwan and the US in the Pacific Ocean last month was carried out in accordance with an international code, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said yesterday. According to a Reuters report citing four unnamed sources, the two nations’ navies last month conducted joint drills in the Western Pacific. The drills were not made public at the time, but “about half-a-dozen navy ships from both sides, including frigates and supply and support vessels, participated in the days-long exercises,” Reuters reported, citing the sources. The drills were designed to practice “basic” operations such as communications, refueling and resupplies,
‘MONEY PIT’: The KMT’s more than NT$2 trillion infrastructure project proposals for eastern Taiwan lack professional input and financial transparency, the DPP said The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus yesterday said it would ask the Executive Yuan to raise a motion to oppose the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus’ infrastructure proposals and prepare to file for a constitutional interpretation if the KMT-dominated legislature forces their passage. The DPP caucus described the three infrastructure plans for transportation links to eastern Taiwan proposed by the KMT as “three money pit projects” that would cost more than NT$2 trillion (US$61.72 billion). It would ask the Executive Yuan to oppose public projects that would drain state financial resources, DPP caucus secretary-general Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) said. It would also file for
SELF-SUFFICIENCY: The project would only be the beginning, as Taiwan needs at least 120 satellites to ensure uninterrupted communication, Wu Tsung-tsong said The Taiwan Space Agency (TASA) yesterday said it plans to launch six low Earth orbit satellites starting in 2026 as part of the government’s plan to boost the resilience of the nation’s communications. The development of the technology gained attention after Ukrainians were able to access the Internet through Space Exploration Technologies Corp (SpaceX) CEO Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite service, despite their infrastructure being severely damaged in the war with Russia. Two of the satellites would be built by the government, while four would involve cooperation between TASA and private contractors. “Over the past 30 years, the satellite technology in Taiwan has