Unreasonable immigration regulations have exacted unnecessary pain on some foreign spouses by forcing them “underground,” according to a new book released by the Union of Excluded Immigrants and Unwanted Citizens.
The Distance of Boundary Lines (一線之遙) is a book of stories of foreign spouses who, for various reasons, were forced to overstay their visas and remain here illegally. The stories were complied based on interviews conducted by volunteers, which advocates a general amnesty for undocumented residents.
“If we had not participated in the movement [to normalize undocumented residents], there is no way we would have the opportunity to learn their stories, because the pressure they face is simply too great,” union spokesman Lorna Kung (龔尤倩) said, adding that undocumented immigrants are unwilling to disclose the “secret in their hearts” for fear of being reported and expelled.
Chian Hock-chong (詹福春), a Malaysian-Chinese, said that although his wife is Taiwanese, he became undocumented after the National Immigration Agency (NIA) refused to grant him a visa extendable domestically, requiring him to go abroad every two months to reapply.
After choosing to overstay his visa because of the prohibitive cost of regular overseas trips, he spent the next 23 years avoiding social events for fear of being reported, he said, adding that he also lived in constant fear of becoming ill because of his ineligibility for the National Health Insurance program.
“I have a lot of regret because we did not dare have children because of my status,” he said, adding that his status also prevented him from returning to see his father before he died.
Requirements for prohibitively frequent overseas visa runs were cited by undocumented residents, with advocates saying that such trips have even been required for holders of Taiwanese passports who do not possess household registration in Taiwan.
Other issues in the book cover passports being confiscated by employers, as well as foreign spouses’ losing legal status if they divorce and are not appointed the legal guardian of their children, even if they have renounced their native citizenship to become a Taiwanese national.
Although Chian and many other immigrants named in the book were eventually granted legal status by the NIA in response to union petitions, union advocates emphasized that there were many others who have not been so fortunate, reiterating their demands for a wider systematic amnesty.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
Myanmar has turned down an offer of assistance from Taiwanese search-and-rescue teams after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the nation on Friday last week, saying other international aid is sufficient, the National Fire Agency said yesterday. More than 1,700 have been killed and 3,400 injured in the quake that struck near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay early on Friday afternoon, followed minutes later by a magnitude 6.7 aftershock. Worldwide, 13 international search-and-rescue teams have been deployed, with another 13 teams mobilizing, the agency said. Taiwan’s search-and-rescue teams were on standby, but have since been told to stand down, as