Foreigners who have lived in Taiwan for decades and love the country should be granted a permanent-resident visa, a lawmaker said yesterday.
At a press conference held yesterday at the legislature, KMT Legislator Apollo Chen (
"Taiwan owes them too much," Chen said.
Doris Brougham (彭蒙惠), the founder of the English magazine Studio Classroom (空中英語教室), for example, has failed in her efforts to apply for a permanent-resident visa although she has lived in Taiwan for over 50 years.
"It seems a face-losing thing for me because I am still treated as a guest despite living here for so long," the well-known English teacher said in fluent Mandarin.
Brougham, who is almost 75, came to Taiwan alone in 1926 and established the popular magazine and the radio program in the same year.
Over the past few decades, she has been awarded several important educational prizes, including the annual National Teachers' Award (
Because Brougham has to attend international conferences or return home to visit her family every year, she cannot conform to the regulations stipulated in the Immigration Law (
Chen said he would advocate amendments to the law after the new legislature convenes on Feb. 2.
In a similar case, DPP Lawmaker Tsai Hung-lang (蔡煌瑯) has repeatedly tried to help Bjarne Gislefoss (徐賓諾), former superintendent of the Puli Christian Hospital (埔里基督教醫院), and his wife Alfhild Gislefoss (紀歐惠), to obtain the permanent-resident visas.
But the help has always been in vain.
Therefore, Puli citizens organized a petition parade recently on the behalf of the Norwegians.
The parade was made up of ambulances, cars, minibuses and election campaign vans, as well as hundreds of people marching.
Liu Chien-chih (劉建志), vice superintendent of the Christian hospital, said Gislefoss, 79, and his wife, 84, tied the knot in Taiwan decades ago. In a bid to establish the hospital in Puli, they returned to their country to raise funds.
They have also spared no effort to take care of Taiwan's Aborigines, Liu said.
"They do not have children of their own, but have become the grandfather and grandmother of many thankful people," the vice-superintendent said
In addition to the many prizes and honors they have received over the years, the couple was honored by the Cabinet-level Council of Aboriginal Affairs last year for their dedication. President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) has also granted them an audience.
The parade may not have been in vain.
With the assistance of Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) and lawmakers Tsai and Apollo Chen, the president has ordered the ministries of foreign affairs and the interior to deal expeditiously with the issue, local media reported.
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said 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. With
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College