The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) is considering a legal amendment to tighten permanent residency requirements for Hong Kongers.
The changes would extend the minimum period Hong Kongers must stay in Taiwan to become eligible to apply for permanent residency, from one year to at least four years.
The council is considering amending the Regulations Governing Permits for Hong Kong and Macau Residents Entering the Taiwan Area and Setting Up Residence or Registered Permanent Residence in the Republic of China (香港澳門居民進入台灣地區及居留定居許可辦法), a government official said yesterday, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Photo: Chung Li-hua, Taipei Times
Current regulations stipulate that Hong Kong and Macau residents who have lineal relatives or a spouse with a household registration in Taiwan, have received “overseas compatriot education” or contributed to overseas community affairs before the UK or Portugal ended their governance of the territories, invested more than NT$6 million (US$195,185) in Taiwan, or have passed review by a central competent authority can apply for permanent residency after staying in Taiwan “for a period of time.”
The official said the term “for a period of time” means they can apply for naturalization after staying in Taiwan for one year, which is a “quasi-national treatment,” as other foreign nationals must stay for five years before they can apply for naturalization.
Asked why Hong Kong and Macau residents are given special treatment, the official said the government sympathized with Hong Kongers after the territory was returned to China in 1997.
Hong Kong residents who held a Taiwanese identity card before 1997 were considered Taiwanese citizens, so under the special circumstances, the government at the time granted Hong Kongers “quasi-national treatment,” allowing them to be naturalized after staying in Taiwan for one year, the official said.
Hong Kong and Taiwan had a special relationship, but after Beijing implemented the National Security Law in Hong Kong in 2020, breaking its promise of “one country, two systems,” the territory has not been the same, they said.
Democracy, freedom and human rights no longer exist in Hong Kong, democracy advocates have been jailed, district councilors who support Taiwan or democracy have been disqualified and many people from mainland China have migrated to Hong Kong, the official said.
National security agencies are concerned that China might try to infiltrate Taiwan through Hong Kong, they said.
According to the proposed amendment, Hong Kongers born in Hong Kong and with no relatives in mainland China would need to stay in Taiwan for four years before they can apply for permanent residency, the official said.
Mainland Chinese with permanent residency in Hong Kong would need to stay for at least six years before they can apply, similar to Chinese spouses of Taiwanese, they said.
TAIWAN IS TAIWAN: US Representative Tom Tiffany said the amendment was not controversial, as ‘Taiwan is not — nor has it ever been — part of Communist China’ The US House of Representatives on Friday passed an amendment banning the US Department of Defense from creating, buying or displaying any map that shows Taiwan as part of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The “Honest Maps” amendment was approved in a voice vote on Friday as part of the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for the 2026 fiscal year. The amendment prohibits using any funds from the act to create, buy or display maps that show Taiwan, Kinmen, Matsu, Penghu, Wuciou (烏坵), Green Island (綠島) or Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼) as part of the PRC. The act includes US$831.5 billion in
‘WORLD WAR III’: Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene said the aid would inflame tensions, but her amendment was rejected 421 votes against six The US House of Representatives on Friday passed the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for fiscal 2026, which includes US$500 million for Taiwan. The bill, which totals US$831.5 billion in discretionary spending, passed in a 221-209 vote. According to the bill, the funds for Taiwan would be administered by the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency and would remain available through Sept. 30, 2027, for the Taiwan Security Cooperation Initiative. The legislation authorizes the US Secretary of Defense, with the agreement of the US Secretary of State, to use the funds to assist Taiwan in procuring defense articles and services, and military training. Republican Representative
Taiwan is hosting the International Linguistics Olympiad (IOL) for the first time, welcoming more than 400 young linguists from 43 nations to National Taiwan University (NTU). Deputy Minister of Education Chu Chun-chang (朱俊彰) said at the opening ceremony yesterday that language passes down knowledge and culture, and influences the way humankind thinks and understands the world. Taiwan is a multicultural and multilingual nation, with Mandarin Chinese, Taiwanese, Hakka, 16 indigenous languages and Taiwan Sign Language all used, Chu said. In addition, Taiwan promotes multilingual education, emphasizes the cultural significance of languages and supports the international mother language movement, he said. Taiwan has long participated
Taiwan must invest in artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics to keep abreast of the next technological leap toward automation, Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) said at the luanch ceremony of Taiwan AI and Robots Alliance yesterday. The world is on the cusp of a new industrial revolution centered on AI and robotics, which would likely lead to a thorough transformation of human society, she told an event marking the establishment of a national AI and robotics alliance in Taipei. The arrival of the next industrial revolution could be a matter of years, she said. The pace of automation in the global economy can
RSS