Foreigners’ unequal rights
I am writing you this e-mail in the hope that you can bring it to the attention of politicians in Taiwan, who are deciding what is humaine and what is not.
Like me, you learned some great news for families in Taiwan: The borders have been reopened to foreign spouses.
Sure, a day full of happiness for a lot of couples who can reunite after so many months of illogical rules, which considered foreigners a threat, a potential importer of COVID-19 — but not if you held a residency card and, later, if you were a student.
However, what is clearly mentioned in the Centers for Disease Control update is that this measure only concerns Republic of China nationals.
Married foreigners like me — living in Taiwan, working here and paying taxes here — are left behind. What is this supposed to mean? Are our spouses more dangerous than other people’s?
If this measure was intended to care about human rights or show compassion on humanitarian grounds, are we not considered human, too?
This is clearly a bad message sent to all foreigners here: We do not count as much as others.
I am an electronic engineer, I hold a PhD, and I have skills that are lacking here in Taiwan and came here to work for a small Taiwanese company, to help them grow.
Now, five months after my arrival, I am considering returning to Europe. Not because of my job, not because of this beautiful island, but because some politicians decided that my wife cannot come because I am a foreigner.
We cannot plan what will happen in the near future; we cannot plan anything for our family or for my wife’s future employment — this is just sad.
As you have published articles in support of couples separated by these border restrictions, I hope that you will continue to support the people left behind, like us. We still have to fight for our rights.
Clement Potier
A very sad husband
in Taipei
Saudi Arabian largesse is flooding Egypt’s cultural scene, but the reception is mixed. Some welcome new “cooperation” between two regional powerhouses, while others fear a hostile takeover by Riyadh. In Cairo, historically the cultural capital of the Arab world, Egyptian Minister of Culture Nevine al-Kilany recently hosted Saudi Arabian General Entertainment Authority chairman Turki al-Sheikh. The deep-pocketed al-Sheikh has emerged as a Medici-like patron for Egypt’s cultural elite, courted by Cairo’s top talent to produce a slew of forthcoming films. A new three-way agreement between al-Sheikh, Kilany and United Media Services — a multi-media conglomerate linked to state intelligence that owns much of
The US and other countries should take concrete steps to confront the threats from Beijing to avoid war, US Representative Mario Diaz-Balart said in an interview with Voice of America on March 13. The US should use “every diplomatic economic tool at our disposal to treat China as what it is... to avoid war,” Diaz-Balart said. Giving an example of what the US could do, he said that it has to be more aggressive in its military sales to Taiwan. Actions by cross-party US lawmakers in the past few years such as meeting with Taiwanese officials in Washington and Taipei, and
The Republic of China (ROC) on Taiwan has no official diplomatic allies in the EU. With the exception of the Vatican, it has no official allies in Europe at all. This does not prevent the ROC — Taiwan — from having close relations with EU member states and other European countries. The exact nature of the relationship does bear revisiting, if only to clarify what is a very complicated and sensitive idea, the details of which leave considerable room for misunderstanding, misrepresentation and disagreement. Only this week, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) received members of the European Parliament’s Delegation for Relations
Denmark’s “one China” policy more and more resembles Beijing’s “one China” principle. At least, this is how things appear. In recent interactions with the Danish state, such as applying for residency permits, a Taiwanese’s nationality would be listed as “China.” That designation occurs for a Taiwanese student coming to Denmark or a Danish citizen arriving in Denmark with, for example, their Taiwanese partner. Details of this were published on Sunday in an article in the Danish daily Berlingske written by Alexander Sjoberg and Tobias Reinwald. The pretext for this new practice is that Denmark does not recognize Taiwan as a state under