The Taiwan Association of University Professors (TAUP) yesterday called for more government measures to counter Beijing’s move to offer residency permit cards to Taiwanese in China, which it said could have serious consequences for Taiwanese on a personal and national level.
The Chinese State Council Information Office on Aug. 16 announced that, starting tomorrow, Taiwanese, Hong Kongers and Macanese who have lived in China for more than six months and are legally working, living or studying in the country would be eligible to apply for a residence card.
Card holders would be granted certain rights and benefits enjoyed by Chinese citizens, such as compulsory education, social insurance and housing subsidies.
Photo: Chung Li-hua, Taipei Times
While the benefits might be attractive, the risks are unclear and the cards could have far-reaching consequences, Taiwan Association for Strategic Simulation (TASS) researcher Ho Cheng-hui (何澄輝) yesterday told a news conference in Taipei, adding that the policy is “another stick and carrot move designed to undermine Taiwan’s national status by treating it as a special administrative region.”
As examples of the risks involved, he said that residents who apply for their cards could be required to provide their fingerprints and other personal information to the Chinese government and subject themselves to Chinese tax laws.
Given Beijing’s attitude toward Taiwan, the two are unlikely to reach any tax agreements and Taiwanese residents in China could end up being taxed on both sides, he said.
Once the line between Taiwan and China begins to blur, Taiwanese could also become excluded from opportunities for technological exchanges and business cooperations with countries like the US, as more countries around the world are stepping up measures against Chinese economic espionage, he added.
Moreover, those who apply would be subject to China’s authoritarian laws banning free speech and other basic human rights, said Raymond Sung (宋承恩), a doctoral student at Oxford University.
“By applying for the permit, Taiwanese agree to Beijing’s political rule, which implies an obligation to help bring about unification and not support Taiwanese independence, and to obey Chinese laws restricting freedom of speech and other political rights,” he said.
The issue is further complicated by the uncertainty about the Taiwanese government’s role in legal disputes concerning the rights of Taiwanese residents in China, as it would be unclear whether they can still be considered Republic of China citizens, he added.
With the policy only days away from being implemented, the Taiwanese government must take action to reduce its effect, TAUP deputy secretary-general Chen Li-fu (陳俐甫) said.
As a countermeasure, he proposed redesignating Chinese residents in Taiwan as “Chinese,” rather than “mainland,” on official documents to enhance the distinction between Taiwanese and Chinese.
“That would not be to cut back official protection of their human rights, but to make it clearer that they are not citizens, as Beijing tries to blur that distinction,” he said.
Sung also said that household registrations of Taiwanese who apply for the permit should be canceled according to Article 9-1 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).
Removing a person’s household registration strips them of National Health Insurance coverage, but not their citizenship, he said, adding that people could reapply for a household registration.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
Myanmar has turned down an offer of assistance from Taiwanese search-and-rescue teams after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the nation on Friday last week, saying other international aid is sufficient, the National Fire Agency said yesterday. More than 1,700 have been killed and 3,400 injured in the quake that struck near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay early on Friday afternoon, followed minutes later by a magnitude 6.7 aftershock. Worldwide, 13 international search-and-rescue teams have been deployed, with another 13 teams mobilizing, the agency said. Taiwan’s search-and-rescue teams were on standby, but have since been told to stand down, as
RSS