Legislators and government officials yesterday locked horns over whether Immigration Law (入出國及移民法) amendments should require officials to provide a document listing reasons before a foreigner is deported or refused residence.
The Home and Nations Committee yesterday began reviewing amendments to the Immigration Law, but were divided over several articles, prompting the meeting to be cut short and postponed until further negotiations can be held between officials and legislators.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) said current regulations do not require officials to provide reasons for deporting foreigners and overseas Taiwanese.
Although overseas Taiwanese have Republic of China passports, they do not have a household registration; therefore many of their rights are not protected, Hsiao said.
No chance to appeal
In addition, many foreigners have complained of being refused resident status or of being deported without being given a reason or a chance to appeal, she added.
Chen Yuan-ying (陳媛英), a counselor at the Ministry of Justice, said that according to the Administrative Procedure Law (行政程序法), the requirement already existed and there was no need to add it to the Immigration Law.
Too complicated
It would cause complications if every single law with an approval or refusal had to be amended to include the regulation, Chen said.
Chen said the Administrative Procedure Law requires that a person being deported or refused resident status be given a document stating the reasons.
Hsiao asked the Ministry of Interior to provide records to prove that the Administrative Procedure Law had been effectively carried out before deciding whether to add the amendment or not.
She added that many foreigners would not have enough time to read or even know about the procedure law, and would therefore not know their rights.
Taiwan Solidarity Union Legislator Kuo Lin-Yung (郭林勇) supported Hsiao's proposal, saying that the rights of foreigners should be protected and that they deserved to know the reasons for being deported or refused residence.
Deputy Interior Minister Chien Tai-lang (
Hsiao also proposed that there should be methods of appeal for overseas Taiwanese if they are refused residence, as well as temporary or long-term stays.
The committee has to review more than 80 articles in the Immigration Law.
The date of the next review session is unknown.
The National Immigration Agency (NIA) said yesterday that it will revoke the dependent-based residence permit of a Chinese social media influencer who reportedly “openly advocated for [China’s] unification through military force” with Taiwan. The Chinese national, identified by her surname Liu (劉), will have her residence permit revoked in accordance with Article 14 of the “Measures for the permission of family- based residence, long-term residence and settlement of people from the Mainland Area in the Taiwan Area,” the NIA said in a news release. The agency explained it received reports that Liu made “unifying Taiwan through military force” statements on her online
A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck off Taitung County at 1:09pm today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 53km northeast of Taitung County Hall at a depth of 12.5km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Taitung County and Hualien County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Nantou County, Chiayi County, Yunlin County, Kaohsiung and Tainan, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage following the quake.
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) is to begin his one-year alternative military service tomorrow amid ongoing legal issues, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. Wang, who last month was released on bail of NT$150,000 (US$4,561) as he faces charges of allegedly attempting to evade military service and forging documents, has been ordered to report to Taipei Railway Station at 9am tomorrow, the Alternative Military Service Training and Management Center said. The 33-year-old would join about 1,300 other conscripts in the 263rd cohort of general alternative service for training at the Chenggong Ling camp in Taichung, a center official told reporters. Wang would first
MINOR DISRUPTION: The outage affected check-in and security screening, while passport control was done manually and runway operations continued unaffected The main departure hall and other parts of Terminal 2 at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport lost power on Tuesday, causing confusion among passengers before electricity was fully restored more than an hour later. The outage, the cause of which is still being investigated, began at about midday and affected parts of Terminal 2, including the check-in gates, the security screening area and some duty-free shops. Parts of the terminal immediately activated backup power sources, while others remained dark until power was restored in some of the affected areas starting at 12:23pm. Power was fully restored at 1:13pm. Taoyuan International Airport Corp said in a
RSS