Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lo Mei-ling (羅美玲) yesterday launched a coalition to advocate rights protection and improved welfare programs for “new residents” of Taiwan, many of whom had acquired citizenship through marriage to a Taiwanese.
Lo said that she had received much help and support from across the political spectrum ahead of the inauguration of the Taiwanese New Immigrants’ Rights Advocacy Alliance of the Legislative Yuan.
Malaysia-born Lo said that the alliance is needed because the number of “new residents” had reached 560,000, or nearly 1 million when combined with their children who were born in Taiwan.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
In coming together under the alliance, lawmakers across party lines see the benefits for Taiwan of working to promote international collaboration, commercial trade, and cultural and educational exchanges with the “home nations” of “new residents.”
Most of the “new Taiwanese citizens” come from Southeast Asian nations, especially Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines.
“We want ‘new residents’ who live in Taiwan to have security and happiness for their families, as they are the bridges for Taiwan to link with their home nations, becoming the advance guard for the government’s international diplomacy,” Lo said.
Deputy Legislative Speaker Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌) in his address at the inauguration of the alliance said that issues affecting “new residents” are very important, and that President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and the Executive Yuan have implemented many beneficial policies “as our government wants ‘new residents’ to become a new force for Taiwan.”
“‘New residents’ coming to live in Taiwan become Taiwanese, and their children are the new Taiwanese children... I always remind officers in the immigration agency to treat them just like they are Taiwanese,” Minister of the Interior Hsu Kuo-yung (徐國勇) said.
Yangmingshan National Park authorities yesterday urged visitors to respect public spaces and obey the law after a couple was caught on a camera livestream having sex at the park’s Qingtiangang (擎天崗) earlier in the day. The Shilin Police Precinct in Taipei said it has identified a suspect and his vehicle registration number, and would summon him for questioning. The case would be handled in accordance with public indecency charges, it added. The couple entered the park at about 11pm on Thursday and began fooling around by 1am yesterday, the police said, adding that the two were unaware of the park’s all-day live
Fast food chain McDonald's is to raise prices by up to NT$5 on some products at its restaurants across Taiwan, starting on Wednesday next week, the company announced today. The prices of all extra value meals and sharing boxes are to increase by NT$5, while breakfast combos and creamy corn soup would go up by NT$3, the company said in a statement. The price of the main items of those meals, if ordered individually, would remain the same. Meanwhile, the price of a medium-sized lemon iced tea and hot cappuccino would rise by NT$3, extra dipping sauces for chicken nuggets would go up
Yangmingshan National Park’s Qingtiangang (擎天崗) nature area has gone viral after a park livestream camera observed a couple in the throes of intimate congress, which was broadcast live on YouTube, drawing large late-night crowds and sparking a backlash over noise, bright lights and disruption to wildlife habitat. The area’s livestream footage appeared to show a couple engaging in sexual activity on a picnic table in the park on Friday last week, with the uncensored footage streamed publicly online. The footage quickly spread across social media, prompting a tide of visitors to travel to the site to “check in” and recreate the
Minister of Digital Affairs Lin Yi-ching (林宜敬) yesterday cited regulatory issues and national security concerns as an expert said that Taiwan is among the few Asian regions without Starlink. Lin made the remarks on Facebook after funP Innovation Group chief executive officer Nathan Chiu (邱繼弘) on Friday said Taiwan and four other countries in Asia — China, North Korea, Afghanistan and Syria — have no access to Starlink. Starlink has become available in 166 countries worldwide, including Ukraine, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam, in the six years since it became commercial, he said. While China and North Korea block Starlink, Syria is not