A Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmaker has proposed an amendment to the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (台灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例) to allow Chinese spouses to obtain Taiwanese citizenship in four years instead of six.
KMT Legislator Yu Hao (游顥) said all foreign spouses who come to live in Taiwan are putting down roots and raising children, which bolsters the population and contributes to cultural exchanges.
“We should see the positive impact of foreign spouses and not see it in political terms. Although they are all from other countries, Chinese spouses take longer to become citizens. This is discrimination,” Yu said.
Photo: Lin Liang-sheng, Taipei Times
“On the principle of equality for all citizens under the Constitution, we should apply the same statutes under the Immigration Act [入出國及移民法] to Chinese spouses and spouses from other countries,” he said.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus chief executive Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) said the proposed amendment would result in a severe national security crisis, as Chinese spouses could collude with Beijing to alter Taiwan’s demographic composition.
The Chinese government has used such a “population restocking” strategy to suppress Tibetans and Uighurs in their home regions, shifting the demographic balance and political and economic power in favor of Chinese, she said, adding that the ploy is now aimed at Taiwan.
Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Legislator Mach Ngoc Tran (麥玉珍), who is originally from Vietnam and acquired Taiwanese citizenship through marriage, had last year tried to reduce the period required to acquire Taiwanese citizenship through “underhanded” means by proposing amendments to the New Immigrants Basic Act (新住民基本法), Wu said.
Mach used the situation of Southeast Asian spouses to justify shortening the waiting period for Chinese to four years, but the DPP caucus blocked it from proceeding, she said.
“In reality, the conditions for spouses from other countries are far more strict,” she said.
Chinese spouses do not have to take a qualification exam and do not need to give up their citizenship, which is required for spouses from other countries. Conditions for those coming from China are already very lenient and favorable,” Wu said.
“Spouses of other countries must stay [in Taiwan] at least 138 days per year to be qualified and it would take eight years for them to obtain citizenship, while Chinese spouses only need six years,” she said.
“If Chinese spouses can support Taiwan’s social culture, rule of law and democratic framework, and are willing to take the qualification exam and give up their Chinese citizenship, we would be open to discussing changes,” she added.
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck off the coast of Hualien County in eastern Taiwan at 7pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter of the temblor was at sea, about 69.9km south of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 30.9km, it said. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake’s intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County’s Changbin Township (長濱), where it measured 5 on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 4 in Hualien, Nantou, Chiayi, Yunlin, Changhua and Miaoli counties, as well as
Credit departments of farmers’ and fishers’ associations blocked a total of more than NT$180 million (US$6.01 million) from being lost to scams last year, National Police Agency (NPA) data showed. The Agricultural Finance Agency (AFA) said last week that staff of farmers’ and fishers’ associations’ credit departments are required to implement fraud prevention measures when they serve clients at the counter. They would ask clients about personal financial management activities whenever they suspect there might be a fraud situation, and would immediately report the incident to local authorities, which would send police officers to the site to help, it said. NPA data showed
ENERGY RESILIENCE: Although Alaska is open for investments, Taiwan is sourcing its gas from the Middle East, and the sea routes carry risks, Ho Cheng-hui said US government officials’ high-profile reception of a Taiwanese representative at the Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference indicated the emergence of an Indo-Pacific energy resilience alliance, an academic said. Presidential Office Secretary-General Pan Men-an (潘孟安) attended the conference in Alaska on Thursday last week at the invitation of the US government. Pan visited oil and gas facilities with senior US officials, including US Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy and US Senator Daniel Sullivan. Pan attending the conference on behalf of President William Lai (賴清德) shows a significant elevation in diplomatic representation,
The Taipei MRT is to begin accepting mobile payment services in the fall, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp said on Saturday. When the company finishes the installation of new payment units at ticketing gates in October, MRT passengers can use credit cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay, the operator said. In addition, the MRT would also provide QR payment codes — which would be compatible with Line Pay, Jkopay, iPass Money, PXPay Plus, EasyWallet, iCash Pay, Taiwan Pay and Taishin Pay — to access the railway system. Currently, passengers can access the Taipei MRT by buying a single-journey token or using EasyCard,
RSS