When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday.
President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens.
The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association.
Photo: Chen Yu-fu, Taipei Times
With China purposefully “reshaping” the population of Hong Kong, Taiwan must raise security thresholds for residency applications from Hong Kongers, he said.
Many Hong Kong residents come to Taiwan not necessarily to settle down, but in search of work and to enter and exit Taiwan freely, Chiu said.
A “long-term residency” system would be established for Hong Kongers, like that of permanent residency for foreigners and including a personal work permit, he said.
However, this system would be different, as it includes a “national security observation period,” he said.
“We’ve added a national security observation period to ensure comprehensive safety,” he said.
“This offers another option for Hong Kong residents and ensures greater security for our citizens,” he said.
The number of Hong Kong and Macao citizens who obtained residency in Taiwan increased by 22 percent from 2023 to last year, rising from 1,659 people to 2,024, council data showed.
Regarding Chinese infiltration of the armed forces, Chiu said that China’s “united front” tactics infiltrate every corner and crevasse.
“We are doing defense work and strengthening security checks and national security laws to prevent the Chinese Communist Party from infiltrating Taiwan,” he said.
“We will do our utmost, please rest assured,” he added.
Chiu warned the public of the risks of traveling to China.
The government is concerned for the safety of Taiwanese traveling in China, especially as the number of cases of people going missing, being detained or having their personal freedoms restricted has been increasing, the MAC said.
The council said members of the public can use a system on the MAC’s official Web site to assess personal risks regarding traveling to China, Hong Kong or Macau.
The council also encouraged people traveling to China to register their travel information on the MAC Web site so that the government can help in the case of an emergency.
FALSE DOCUMENTS? Actor William Liao said he was ‘voluntarily cooperating’ with police after a suspect was accused of helping to produce false medical certificates Police yesterday questioned at least six entertainers amid allegations of evasion of compulsory military service, with Lee Chuan (李銓), a member of boy band Choc7 (超克7), and actor Daniel Chen (陳大天) among those summoned. The New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office in January launched an investigation into a group that was allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified medical documents. Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) has been accused of being one of the group’s clients. As the investigation expanded, investigators at New Taipei City’s Yonghe Precinct said that other entertainers commissioned the group to obtain false documents. The main suspect, a man surnamed
The government is considering polices to increase rental subsidies for people living in social housing who get married and have children, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday. During an interview with the Plain Law Movement (法律白話文) podcast, Cho said that housing prices cannot be brought down overnight without affecting banks and mortgages. Therefore, the government is focusing on providing more aid for young people by taking 3 to 5 percent of urban renewal projects and zone expropriations and using that land for social housing, he said. Single people living in social housing who get married and become parents could obtain 50 percent more
DEMOGRAPHICS: Robotics is the most promising answer to looming labor woes, the long-term care system and national contingency response, an official said Taiwan is to launch a five-year plan to boost the robotics industry in a bid to address labor shortages stemming from a declining and aging population, the Executive Yuan said yesterday. The government approved the initiative, dubbed the Smart Robotics Industry Promotion Plan, via executive order, senior officials told a post-Cabinet meeting news conference in Taipei. Taiwan’s population decline would strain the economy and the nation’s ability to care for vulnerable and elderly people, said Peter Hong (洪樂文), who heads the National Science and Technology Council’s (NSTC) Department of Engineering and Technologies. Projections show that the proportion of Taiwanese 65 or older would
Democracies must remain united in the face of a shifting geopolitical landscape, former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) told the Copenhagen Democracy Summit on Tuesday, while emphasizing the importance of Taiwan’s security to the world. “Taiwan’s security is essential to regional stability and to defending democratic values amid mounting authoritarianism,” Tsai said at the annual forum in the Danish capital. Noting a “new geopolitical landscape” in which global trade and security face “uncertainty and unpredictability,” Tsai said that democracies must remain united and be more committed to building up resilience together in the face of challenges. Resilience “allows us to absorb shocks, adapt under
RSS