Sunday, March 26, 2017

Some immigrants no longer need to give up citizenship

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Some immigrants no longer need to give up citizenship

By Chen Yu-fu and Jonathan Chin / Staff reporter, with staff writer

Catholic priest and long-term resident of Taiwan Yves Moal yesterday expresses his delight at the chance to have dual citizenship as new rules take effect today.

Photo: Hua Meng-ching, Taipei Times

The regulation concerning the criteria for foreigners with professional skills to obtain Republic of China citizenship, without being required to renounce their original citizenship, is to be promulgated today, the Ministry of the Interior announced.

The ministry is to promulgate today the regulation, which is in accordance with and supplementing an amendment to the Nationality Act (國籍法) passed by the legislature in December last year that states foreign nationals may be exempted from submitting a certificate of loss of original nationality if “they are high-level professionals in the technological, economic, educational, cultural, art, sports, or other domains who have been recommended by the central competent authority.”

Foreigners with five years of residency and specific professional qualifications in six specified categories can be granted citizenship without renouncing their prior citizenship, it said.

The amendment does not apply to Chinese citizens or residents of Hong Kong or Macau, as their naturalization falls under the purview of 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), it said.

The professional categories included in the regulation are technology, economics, arts and culture, education, sports and “special,” the ministry said.

The technology category includes experts in high-value technical fields such as nanotechnology, optoelectronics, information technology, biotechnology, military science and technology, artificial intelligence, robotics and other cutting-edge technologies.

The economics category includes those with technical skills or knowledge of subjects that could contribute to the upgrading of industry, such as those involving semiconductors, biomedical technology, “green” energy, cultural industries and tourism.

The arts and culture category includes those who received recognition from distinguished institutions or major media outlets; have served on the panels of major arts and cultural prizes; accomplished preservers or restorers; or outstanding performers.

The educational category includes foreigners who are employed at a Taiwanese academic institution with a rank of assistant professor or above and those who have published in internationally renowned academic journals.

The sports category includes athletes who have finished in the top three places in international competition, national team coaches, international referees and distinguished players.

The special category includes distinguished democratic, human rights and religious advocates; those who have authored major works of literature; those who have received international honors or distinctions; and those with a recognized contribution to finance, medicine, transportation, telecommunications, aviation and navigation, meteorology, earthquake studies and popular culture.

French Catholic priest Yves Moal — also known as Liu Yi-feng (劉一峰) — yesterday said he is heartened to be able to be a citizen of both Taiwan and France.

Moal, 76, said he has served the Catholic Church in Taiwan for the past 51 years and has since 1986 managed a Hualien-based charity for mentally challenged children, works that have earned him a Presidential Office commendation.

“Taiwan has been my home for a long time. I spend almost twice as much time in Taiwan as in France, and I will be more than happy to live out my old age in Taiwan,” Moal said, adding that he expects to receive his national identification card next week.

Additional reporting by Hua Meng-ching

Saturday, March 25, 2017

DPP unveils new immigrant committee

By Chen Wei-han / Staff reporter

President Tsai Ing-wen, third right, yesterday presents a certificate to TV star Tran Thi Hoang Phuon, third left, a lecturer in Vietnamese at National Chengchi University, for serving as chairwoman of the Democratic Progressive Party’s new immigrant committee.

Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times

Members of a new Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) committee on immigrants were inaugurated yesterday to advise the party on immigration issues amid rapid growth in the number of immigrants living in Taiwan.

The committee was established to address the needs of new immigrants, which make up the fifth-largest ethnic group in the nation, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said at a ceremony held at DPP headquarters in Taipei.

The DPP was the first party to commit itself to issues relating to Aborigines and the party’s new immigrant committee is another step forward, said Tsai, who doubles as DPP chair.

“The number of immigrants has reached nearly 500,000 and the number of their children is more than 350,000. As a party responsive to public opinion and emphasizing ethnic pluralism, the DPP has to address the needs and opinions of new immigrants,” Tsai said.

The committee would help the nation become more multicultural and tolerant, as well as promoting exchanges with other cultures, she said.

Twelve committee members were announced yesterday, including TV star Tran Thi Hoang Phuong; Changhua County New Immigrants Association director Lee Meng-han (李孟涵); Indonesian lecturer Hung Ching-ching (洪晶晶); Thai dancer Hsu Chen-ni (許珍妮); Chang Yi-hui (張義惠), a member of a women’s group who supported Tsai’s presidential campaign; and Hualien County New Immigrant Association director Hung Yu (洪玉).

Chinese immigrant Ning Jiarong (寧家榮), the founder of a cosmetics company; and National Chi Nan University professor Ho Ching-jung (何景榮), an Indonesian-Taiwanese, were also named.

The other committee members are experts on immigration issues — DPP Deputy Secretary-General Hsu Chia-ching (徐佳青); women’s rights campaigner Tsai Shun-jou (蔡順柔); National Cheng Kung University professor Tan Le-kun (陳麗君); and National Kaohsiung University professor Ho Ching-jung (何青蓉).

Tran, who is to be chairwoman, said the establishment of the committee shows that the nation’s leadership has attached great importance to issues concerning immigrants.

A wider participation of immigrants in the nation’s decisionmaking process would harness the creativity of immigrants, Tran said.

Ning, a former member of the Chinese Communist Party, said she had withdrawn from the party and obtained Republic of China citizenship.

Her work on the committee would see her address issues that concern Chinese spouses living in Taiwan, such as the relatively longer process for Chinese spouses to obtain citizenship compared with immigrants from other nations.

There are 330,000 Chinese spouses in Taiwan and their rights have improved over the years, and she would seek further improvements, despite the “historical factors,” Ning said.