Today marks the deadline for two Chinese-born spouses of Taiwanese who posted “reunification” comments on social media to voluntarily leave Taiwan before being forcibly deported.
The two women, who go by Xiaowei (小微) and Enqi (恩綺), have had their dependent-based residency permits revoked and cannot reapply for five years after being reported for comments on Chinese social media platform Douyin about “reunifying” China and Taiwan by military force.
One woman has already bought flight tickets and is prepared to leave, while one remains undecided, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) told reporters at the Legislative Yuan today.
Photo: Lee Wen-hsin, Taipei Times
The Ministry of the Interior found that one influencer has a strong connection to the Taiwan Affairs Office in China, having previously maintained frequent communication, which could be the cause of the current uncertainties, she said.
Neither of the two women has citizenship or a Taiwanese passport, so according to National Immigration Agency (NIA) regulations, Chinese citizens whose dependent-based residency permits are revoked have 10 days to leave Taiwan before facing forced deportation measures, she added.
Both women have sought counsel from Taiwanese lawyers and have filed appeals, she said.
The two women and their Taiwanese husbands on Friday last week protested outside the Presidential Office with a white banner reading: “Give back our rights as mothers."
Both women have protested being separated from their families in the event of deportation.
They also handed a petition to the Presidential Office’s military police.
Their actions would not affect the enforcement of the original ruling, Liu said.
The NIA is already aware of the two women’s place of residence and movements, she added.
In an effort to avoid conflict, a special NIA task force would first try to persuade the women to leave voluntarily, the NIA said.
If the women refuse to comply, the agents would resort to using force, it said.
In the event of forced deportation, any costs incurred for flight tickets and related expenses would be charged to the person concerned or their guarantor in Taiwan, as stated in Article 19 of the Act Governing the Relations Between the People of Taiwan and the Mainland Area (台灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), the agency said.
If they fail to pay, the case would be referred to the Ministry of Justice’s Administrative Enforcement Agency for collection, it added.
Additional reporting by Wang Kuan-jen and CNA
Several Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) officials including Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) are to be summoned for questioning and then transferred to prosecutors for holding an illegal assembly in Taipei last night, the Taipei Police said today. Chu and two others hosted an illegal assembly and are to be requested to explain their actions, the Taipei City Police Department's Zhongzheng (中正) First Precinct said, referring to a protest held after Huang Lu Chin-ju (黃呂錦茹), KMT Taipei's chapter director, and several other KMT staffers were questioned for alleged signature forgery in recall petitions against Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators. Taipei prosecutors had filed
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
President William Lai (賴清德) has appointed former vice president Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) to attend the late Pope Francis’ funeral at the Vatican City on Saturday on his behalf, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today. The Holy See announced Francis’ funeral would take place on Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square. The ministry expressed condolences over Francis’ passing and said that Chen would represent Taiwan at the funeral and offer condolences in person. Taiwan and the Vatican have a long-standing and close diplomatic relationship, the ministry said. Both sides agreed to have Chen represent Taiwan at the funeral, given his Catholic identity and
NEW WORLD: Taiwan is pursuing innovative approaches to international relations through economics, trade and values-based diplomacy, the foreign minister said Taiwan would implement a “three-chain strategy” that promotes democratic values in response to US tariffs, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said. Taiwan would aim to create a “global democratic value chain,” seek to capitalize on its position within the first island chain and promote a “non-red supply chain,” Lin was quoted as saying in the ministry’s written report to the Legislative Yuan submitted ahead of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee meeting slated for today. The Ministry would also uphold a spirit of mutual beneficial collaboration, maintaining close communication and consultations with Washington to show that Taiwan-US cooperation
RSS