“New immigrants” — a term generally used to describe people from China and Southeast Asia who have married into Taiwanese families over the past two decades — are becoming increasingly political and their votes are being wooed by the nation’s major political parties.
One politically active new immigrant is Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislator-at-large nominee Lo Mei-ling (羅美玲).
Lo, 50, is a third-generation Malaysian-Chinese who came to Taiwan in 1987 to study at National Taiwan Normal University. She later married a Taiwanese.
In 2014, she was elected as an independent to the Nantou County Council, and was successfully re-elected in 2018 as a member of the DPP.
Her main focus in politics has been new immigrants and long-term care for elderly people.
As a legislator, she would first want to evaluate how current policies affecting new immigrants are being carried out at the local level, instead of introducing new policies, Lo said.
“As a local councilor, I have noticed that it is impossible for local governments to perfectly execute every single central government policy. Sometimes, there is a huge gap between the central and local governments, so it is important to first determine to what extent policies are being implemented,” she said.
“In my opinion, it is more realistic to try to improve current policies and ensure that they are being carried out than it is to continuously roll out new policies,” she said, adding that she also wants the government to set up a council for new immigrant affairs.
Another politically active new immigrant is Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislator-at-large nominee Niu Chun-ju (牛春茹).
The 59-year-old graduated from Baotou Medical College in Inner Mongolia before working for Taiwanese firms in Shenzhen, China.
In 2000, Niu married a Taiwanese and relocated here, receiving her Republic of China (ROC) citizenship in 2009. That same year, she joined the KMT and in January last year established an association for new immigrants.
As a legislator, she hopes to reduce the waiting period from 10 years to five years for new immigrants who hold ROC citizenship and wish to run for public office, Niu said.
Aside from pushing for an emergency fund to help new immigrants who contract illnesses not covered by the National Health Insurance system, Niu said that she also wants to set up a council for new immigrant affairs.
“There are 550,000 Aborigines, but about 1 million new immigrants and their children. So I think new immigrants should be represented in the government just as Aborigines are represented by the Council of Indigenous Peoples,” she said.
Taiwan People’s Party legislative candidate Kimyung Keng (何景榮), 41, is a second-generation immigrant of a Taiwanese father and an Indonesian mother.
Born in Jakarta and raised in Taiwan, he was educated in the US on scholarship programs offered by the Taiwanese and US governments. Keng was selected as a 2016 Ten Outstanding Young Persons in Taiwan.
As a legislator for Taipei’s third electoral district, he would focus on two major policies: improving young people’s quality of life by making it easier for them to pay off student loans and by providing housing for them, Keng said.
“I will push for all operations at Taipei International Airport [Songshan airport] to be moved to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, and use the vacated land to build public housing for young people. This would be a win-win solution, because the Songshan airport poses a danger to area residents, as shown by the February 2015 plane crash,” he said.
“I will bring the world to Taiwan, using new immigrants and migrant workers as the medium,” Keng added.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
Tropical Storm Fung-Wong would likely strengthen into a typhoon later today as it continues moving westward across the Pacific before heading in Taiwan’s direction next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 8am, Fung-Wong was about 2,190km east-southeast of Cape Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving westward at 25kph and possibly accelerating to 31kph, CWA data showed. The tropical storm is currently over waters east of the Philippines and still far from Taiwan, CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said, adding that it could likely strengthen into a typhoon later in the day. It is forecast to reach the South China Sea
WEATHER Typhoon forming: CWA A tropical depression is expected to form into a typhoon as early as today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, adding that the storm’s path remains uncertain. Before the weekend, it would move toward the Philippines, the agency said. Some time around Monday next week, it might reach a turning point, either veering north toward waters east of Taiwan or continuing westward across the Philippines, the CWA said. Meanwhile, the eye of Typhoon Kalmaegi was 1,310km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, as of 2am yesterday, it said. The storm is forecast to move through central
RSS