Taiwan’s inclusion in Japan’s family registry system was the result of years of discreet efforts by Taiwanese diplomats and Taiwan-friendly Japanese lawmakers, former representative to Japan Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) said yesterday.
The Nikkei on Monday reported that from May, Tokyo is to allow Taiwanese married to Japanese citizens to list their place of origin as “Taiwan” in the official family record database.
Previously, applicants had to select “China.”
Photo: Lin Tsuei-yi, Taipei Times
Hsieh, who was Taiwan’s representative to Japan from 2016 to last year, said on Facebook that numerous under-the-radar efforts by Taiwanese diplomats, with assistance from Japanese lawmakers, had made the change possible.
The rule that led to Taiwanese being listed as being from China has been in place since 1964, before which the Republic of China (ROC, Taiwan) had diplomatic ties with Tokyo, Nikkei reported.
In 1972, Japan switched diplomatic recognition from the ROC to the People’s Republic of China.
The option in the family registry for Taiwanese was not changed from “China,” the newspaper reported
Hsieh said that after taking office in May 2016, he received complaints from Taiwanese living in Japan who had been forced to select “China.”
He was asked to push the Japanese government to change the rule.
Hsieh said that he had thought the arrangement was “unreasonable” and that the residence registry, a separate system, has a “Taiwan” option for nationality.
However, he was told that the only way to make the change was to amend the Japanese Family Register Act, Hsieh said.
His office believed that it was unlikely Japan’s Diet would change the law solely to cater to the needs of Taiwanese living in the country, and that any attempt to do so would lead to protests and pushback from Beijing and China-friendly Diet members.
However, two Japanese congressmen’s wives were from Taiwan while he was in office, Hsieh said.
One of the two congressmen told him that Japan was expected to amend the act to require the inclusion of phonetic readings of personal names, he said.
The congressman promised to look into the family registry issue, Hsieh said.
The congressman asked Taipei to keep the issue low-profile while he rallied support, Hsieh said.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday thanked all those who had helped facilitate the change, which is expected to take effect on May 26.
Two Taiwanese married to Japanese said that they were excited about the change and would register as being from Taiwan as soon as possible.
According to the new rules, a Taiwanese registered as being from China would be able to change their nationality to Taiwan.
One said that although the change does not mean Japan recognizes Taiwan as a country, it is still a positive step forward.
The most important thing is that we can identify as Taiwanese and Japan understands the importance of that, she added.
The Japanese Ministry of Justice told Japanese-language media on Monday that the change is “a sign of greater consideration for identity.”
Although the Japanese government says the change is technical, it still drew a protest from Beijing.
Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Guo Jiakun (郭嘉昆) on Monday said that “the question of Taiwan is purely an internal affair of China, which brooks no foreign interference.”
“We urge Japan to stop making a sideshow on the question of Taiwan and stop sending conflicting or wrong messages,” Guo was quoted as saying by an English-language Kyodo News report.
The German city of Hamburg on Oct. 14 named a bridge “Kaohsiung-Brucke” after the Taiwanese city of Kaohsiung. The footbridge, formerly known as F566, is to the east of the Speicherstadt, the world’s largest warehouse district, and connects the Dar-es-Salaam-Platz to the Brooktorpromenade near the Port of Hamburg on the Elbe River. Timo Fischer, a Free Democratic Party member of the Hamburg-Mitte District Assembly, in May last year proposed the name change with support from members of the Social Democratic Party and the Christian Democratic Union. Kaohsiung and Hamburg in 1999 inked a sister city agreement, but despite more than a quarter-century of
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday expressed “grave concerns” after Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (黃循財) reiterated the city-state’s opposition to “Taiwanese independence” during a meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang (李強). In Singapore on Saturday, Wong and Li discussed cross-strait developments, the Singaporean Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. “Prime Minister Wong reiterated that Singapore has a clear and consistent ‘one China’ policy and is opposed to Taiwan independence,” it said. MOFA responded that it is an objective fact and a common understanding shared by many that the Republic of China (ROC) is an independent, sovereign nation, with world-leading
The Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau (MJIB) has been investigating nine shell companies working with Prince Holding Group, and the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office is seeking further prosecution of alleged criminals, a source said yesterday. The nine companies and three Taiwanese nationals were named by the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on Oct. 14 as Specially Designated Nationals as a result of a US federal court indictment. Prince Holding founder Chen Zhi (陳志) has been charged with fraud, conspiracy, money laundering and overseeing Prince Holding’s suspected forced-labor camps in Cambodia, the indictment says. Intelligence shared between Taiwan,
COOLING OFF: Temperatures are expected to fall to lows of about 20°C on Sunday and possibly 18°C to 19°C next week, following a wave of northeasterly winds on Friday The Central Weather Administration (CWA) on Sunday forecast more rain and cooler temperatures for northern Taiwan this week, with the mercury dropping to lows of 18°C, as another wave of northeasterly winds sweeps across the country. The current northeasterly winds would continue to affect Taiwan through today, with precipitation peaking today, bringing increased rainfall to windward areas, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng (劉沛滕) said. The weather system would weaken slightly tomorrow before another, stronger wave arrives on Friday, lasting into next week, Liu said. From yesterday to today, northern Taiwan can expect cool, wet weather, with lows of 22°C to 23°C in most areas,
RSS