A draft immigrant rights act has been sent to the Executive Yuan for review, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said on Wednesday, while calling for the establishment of a committee dedicated to immigrant affairs.
A draft basic act for new residents was discussed in the legislature’s Internal Administration Committee on April 29. However, as no conclusion was reached, lawmakers decided to wait until another version was submitted by the new administration after the inauguration on May 20.
The committee met again today to discuss various legislators’ proposals for an immigrant rights act.
Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times
Speaking to reporters before appearing at the committee, Liu said that immigration is good for the nation’s declining birthrate and society as a whole.
There are about 600,000 immigrants in Taiwan, necessitating a dedicated law to manage their rights, she said.
The Ministry of the Interior has already sent its version to the Cabinet, which has yet to propose a finalized draft, she added.
Between the three major parties, eight or nine drafts have been proposed, she said, calling on the Cabinet to consolidate their views into one bill.
In her report to the committee, Liu said she would ask the Cabinet to expedite review of the bill.
Issues under debate include the name of the act and definition of “new resident,” she said.
In its version, the ministry suggested the name “new resident rights protection act,” since calling it a basic act might encroach on the domain of other laws, she said.
Separately, the ministry also hopes to establish an immigrant affairs committee under the Cabinet to dedicate personnel and funds to related initiatives, and consolidate policies among agencies, Liu said.
Issues to be handled by the committee would include establishing a national-level system for language interpretation and liberalizing academic qualifications, she said.
Taiwan has received more than US$70 million in royalties as of the end of last year from developing the F-16V jet as countries worldwide purchase or upgrade to this popular model, government and military officials said on Saturday. Taiwan funded the development of the F-16V jet and ended up the sole investor as other countries withdrew from the program. Now the F-16V is increasingly popular and countries must pay Taiwan a percentage in royalties when they purchase new F-16V aircraft or upgrade older F-16 models. The next five years are expected to be the peak for these royalties, with Taiwan potentially earning
STAY IN YOUR LANE: As the US and Israel attack Iran, the ministry has warned China not to overstep by including Taiwanese citizens in its evacuation orders The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday rebuked a statement by China’s embassy in Israel that it would evacuate Taiwanese holders of Chinese travel documents from Israel amid the latter’s escalating conflict with Iran. Tensions have risen across the Middle East in the wake of US and Israeli airstrikes on Iran beginning Saturday. China subsequently issued an evacuation notice for its citizens. In a news release, the Chinese embassy in Israel said holders of “Taiwan compatriot permits (台胞證)” issued to Taiwanese nationals by Chinese authorities for travel to China — could register for evacuation to Egypt. In Taipei, the ministry yesterday said Taiwan
‘LIKE-MINDED PARTNER’: Tako van Popta said it would be inappropriate to delay signing the deal with Taiwan because of China, adding he would promote the issue Canadian senators have stressed Taiwan’s importance for international trade and expressed enthusiasm for ensuring the Taiwan-Canada trade cooperation framework agreement is implemented this year. Representative to Canada Harry Tseng (曾厚仁) in an interview with the Central News Agency (CNA) said he was increasingly uneasy about Ottawa’s delays in signing the agreement, especially as Ottawa has warmed toward Beijing. There are “no negotiations left. Not only [is it] initialed, we have three versions of the text ready: English, French and Mandarin,” Tseng said. “That tells you how close we are to the final signature.” Tseng said that he hoped Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney
POSITIVE DEVELOPMENT: Japan and the US are expected to hold in-depth discussions on Taiwan-related issues during the meeting next month, Japanese sources said The holding of a Japan-US leaders’ meeting ahead of US President Donald Trump’s visit to China is positive news for Taiwan, former Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association representative Hiroyasu Izumi said yesterday. After the Liberal Democratic Party’s landslide victory in Japan’s House of Representatives election, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is scheduled to visit the US next month, where she is to meet with Trump ahead of the US president’s planned visit to China from March 31 to April 2 for a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平). Japan and the US are expected to hold in-depth discussions on Taiwan-related issues during the
RSS