The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday said it would amend the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例) to deal with the issue of Taiwanese citizens holding Chinese residency permits.
China has used these residency permits to muddle the issue of national identity on either side of the Taiwan Strait and as a tool for integration, the council said in a written statement.
The Chinese Communist Party has used Taiwanese entities to promote these residency cards and other Chinese identity documents, it said.
Photo: Chen Yu-fu, Taipei Times
The statement was in response to remarks earlier yesterday by China’s Taiwan Affairs Office spokesperson Zhu Fenglian (朱鳳蓮), who said that “Democratic Progressive Party [DPP] officials” are responsible for the confusion about China’s residency card and Taiwanese compatriot card.
DPP officials have done this to disrupt, Zhu said at a news conference in Beijing, alleging that the Taiwanese government seeks to threaten and intimidate Taiwanese.
Taiwanese have been allowed to apply for China’s residency permits since 2018, Mainland Affairs Council Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) told a news conference on Thursday last week.
Although there are conditions for applying for such a permit, such as residing in China for at least half a year or being gainfully employed, the Chinese government has loosened restrictions to attract more interest, Liang said.
The government needs to respond to this, he added.
Chinese spouse and influencer Guan Guan’s (關關) residency permit has been revoked for repeatedly posting pro-China videos that threaten national security, the National Immigration Agency confirmed today. Guan Guan has said many controversial statements in her videos posted to Douyin (抖音), including “the red flag will soon be painted all over Taiwan” and “Taiwan is an inseparable part of China,” and expressing hope for expedited reunification. The agency last year received multiple reports alleging that Guan Guan had advocated for armed reunification. After verifying the reports, the agency last month issued a notice requiring her to appear and explain her actions. Guan
GIVE AND TAKE: Blood demand continues to rise each year, while fewer young donors are available due to the nation’s falling birthrate, a doctor said Blood donors can redeem points earned from donations to obtain limited edition Formosan black bear travel mugs, the Kaohsiung Blood Center said yesterday, as it announced a goal of stocking 20,000 units of blood prior to the Lunar New Year. The last month of the lunar year is National Blood Donation Month, when local centers seek to stockpile blood for use during the Lunar New Year holiday. The blood demand in southern Taiwan — including Tainan and Kaohsiung, as well as Chiayi, Pingtung, Penghu and Taitung counties — is about 2,000 units per day, the center said. The donation campaign aims to boost
The Kaohsiung Tourism Bureau audited six hotels in an effort to prevent price gouging ahead of Korean band BTS’ concert tour in the city scheduled for Nov. 19, 21 and 22 this year. The bureau on Friday said that the audits — conducted in response to allegations of unfair pricing posted on social media — found no wrongdoing. These establishments included the local branches of Chateau de Chine, Hotel Nikko, My Humble House, and Grand Hai Lai, it said, adding that the Consumer Protection Commission would have penalized price gougers had the accusations been substantiated. The bureau said the Tourism Development Act
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) said a magnitude 4.9 earthquake that struck off the coast of eastern Taiwan yesterday was an independent event and part of a stress-adjustment process. The earthquake occurred at 4:47pm, with its epicenter at sea about 45.4km south of Yilan County Hall at a depth of 5.9km, the CWA said. The quake's intensity, which gauges the actual effects of a temblor, was highest in several townships in Yilan and neighboring Hualien County, where it measured 4 on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the CWA said. Lin Po-yu (林柏佑), a division chief at the CWA's Seismological Center, told a news conference