The government is unable to establish a dedicated bureau to handle immigrant affairs due to a law restricting the number of bureau-level agencies, but in the interim such affairs would be handled by a preparatory office and dedicated task forces at the local level, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said yesterday.
The government can legally only have 70 bureau-level agencies, Liu told the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) in an interview, adding that the ministry would have to wait until a slot becomes available before it can formally establish an immigrant resident affairs bureau.
Until that time, the ministry has established a preparatory office and supports the idea that immigrant residents should have the right to access media, she said.
Photo: Yu An-ting, Taipei Times
The government must send out the message that it is here to help those in need, she added.
Liu also urged local governments to set up immigrant affairs task forces, adding that it would be more efficient than having the National Immigration Agency or the Ministry of the Interior handle such affairs.
Liu disagreed with the naming of the Immigrant Resident Basic Act (新住民基本法) passed last month, stating that it was not as inclusive as the ministry intended, but still functioned per the ministry’s plans to uphold the rights of all immigrants legally entering Taiwan, regardless of whether they enter for work or as residents, before obtaining an identification card.
While the name “basic act” afforded the legislation a higher tier of the legislative hierarchy, it also clashes with other acts, such as 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), she said.
Meanwhile, commenting on President William Lai’s (賴清德) emphasis on building resilience, Liu said that different ministries have different tasks in the event of war.
Liu commended former president Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) efforts to shore up the nation’s infrastructure — gas, power, sugar, water and other state-owned businesses — but said that the public must be aware that war would not take the form of traditional warfare as seen in World War II.
Citing the Ukraine-Russia war and the Israeli invasion of Gaza as examples, Liu said part of modern wars would be about which side can successfully infiltrate and “lock down” the majority or the entirety of the opposing side’s access to the Internet, or bombard the opposing side with fake information.
This trend highlights the importance of maintaining digital and other critical infrastructure, she said, adding that the ministry would train personnel to ensure they are up to the task.
Liu also said that the ministry would train the public to be self-sufficient during war or natural disasters, as such skills would enable people to survive the initial shock.
‘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