Taiwan's government yesterday rejected an online petition that asked for the abolishment of a rule requiring long-term foreign residents to renounce their original nationality as a prerequisite when applying for Taiwanese citizenship.
The Ministry of the Interior (MOI) rejected the petition, which was submitted by civil society organization Crossroads on Aug. 19, by citing the "principle of a single-nationality system" and "taking into account the problems of our country's small territory, dense population, limited resources and national loyalty."
"If foreign nationals who have lived permanently for five years [in Taiwan] can naturalize without having to prove the loss of their original nationality, it may have a significant negative impact on our country's finances, social welfare, and national security," the MOI said in a statement rejecting the petition.
Photo: CNA
"The naturalization system is formulated according to the needs of our country," the statement added, without elaborating.
The MOI also noted exceptions to the rule for "high-level professionals" and "those who have made outstanding contributions."
The petition, which obtained 5,746 online "signatures," had asked the Taiwanese government to "grant immigrants who have legally resided in Taiwan for more than five years as permanent residents a standardized pathway to naturalization without requiring them to renounce their original nationality(s)."
Under current rules, nearly all foreign nationals seeking to naturalize as Taiwanese citizens must first give up their original nationality, a requirement that does not exist in the naturalization policies of countries like the US, Canada, France, Italy and the UK.
Meanwhile, most countries that ban dual citizenship such as Singapore do so for both their own adult citizens and foreign-born applicants while Taiwan’s dual citizenship ban only applies to foreign applicants and not Taiwan nationals, which Crossroads highlighted.
"Taiwan already permits millions of native-born citizens to hold multiple nationalities and reside abroad without question," the civil society group said in a statement on Facebook yesterday.
"Denying the same opportunity to naturalized citizens who live and contribute to Taiwan daily seems inconsistent."
The group said that Taiwan's exceptions to the nationality-renouncing rule are "too narrow" and resulted in "an average of fewer than 50 individuals per year" naturalizing as dual citizens since 2016.
"Currently, there are nearly 40,000 permanent residents, only 0.1 percent of the entire population," Crossroads said in response to the MOI's petition rejection notice.
"With the population expected to shrink dramatically from its peak of 23.6 million in 2019 to approximately 15 million by 2070," the group said, citing official statistics, Taiwan faces a "severe demographic decline" which "underscores the urgency of attracting and retaining contributors to Taiwan's economy and society."
FUKUOKA SITUATION: Japanese media reported that the pathogen is expected to be identified by the summer, while the CDC downplayed the idea that it was hMPV A “mysterious cold-like illness” reported in Japan’s Fukuoka Prefecture does not seem to be a new disease, but Japanese authorities have been asked about the situation, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. The Fukuoka Prefectural Medical Association on Wednesday told a news conference that a “mystery cold” that has become a hot topic on social media is “highly likely to be caused by some kind of viral infection,” Japan’s KBC News reported. “Many people are experiencing symptoms starting with a sore throat, followed by a runny nose, phlegm and a severe cough,” KBC News reported, citing association officials. Health authorities are
Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) arrived in Taiwan yesterday ahead of upcoming AI and technology events, saying he plans to meet with clients and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) during his visit. After landing at Taipei Songshan Airport, Huang posed for photos with fans and handed out Yakult drinks to reporters and supporters waiting at the scene, saying he has “a lot to do” during the trip. Asked about reports that Nvidia’s planned headquarters site in Taipei’s Beitou Shilin Technology Park could break ground on May 27, Huang said that if the company holds an event, he would
Carrefour Taiwan is to begin using a new name from the start of July, but it cannot divulge the name until then, the chairman of the supermarket chain's parent company said today. President Chain Store Co chairman Lo Chih-hsien (羅智先) was asked by reporters after a shareholders' meeting to confirm whether the company has settled on a new name for the supermarket brand. In March, the government-registered name of two Carrefour Taiwan branches was quietly changed to "Le Chia Kang" (樂家康) in Chinese, raising speculation that has been selected as the name. Lo said that because of local regulations and contractual obligations, the
The Philippines would likely be involved in any conflict over Taiwan due to its proximity to the democracy claimed by China, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said, reiterating a stance that risks angering Beijing. “In the Philippines, we do not have a choice because Taiwan is so close to the Philippines and we have almost 200,000 Filipino nationals living and working in Taiwan,” Marcos said in an interview with Japanese media in Manila on Monday. The Philippine leader’s comments come ahead of a state visit to Japan next week, where he is to meet with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi to discuss security
RSS