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E-Ling Chiu
Director of Media and Publication
Taiwan Association for Human Rights(TAHR)
Refugee Cases and Refugee Law in
Taiwan
Background of Taiwan
background
Area : 36,000 square kilometers
Population : 23 million
Language : Mandarin / Taiwanese /
Hakka / Indigenous Languages
Religion : Buddhism / Taoism /
Christianity / Islam
Politics
The longest Martial Law in the world, lasting for
38 years from 1949-1987
Two times of peaceful party transition in 2000 and
2008
Party in governance: Kuomintang (KMT), party in
opposition: Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)
Regarded as a total free country by Freedom
House for the past 10 years
International relationship
R.O.C was forced to withdraw its UN
membership in 1971 after China was
accepted as the UN member.
International human rights treaties
that Taiwan has adopted
Before 1971:
Convention on the Prevent and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide
Convention on the Political Rights of Women
International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination
After 1971:
ratified CEDAW in January 2007
Ratified ICCPR and ICESCR in March 2009
Deposit documents of the three international treaties were sent to the UNSG but were all rejected due to the UN Resolution 2758.
Act to Implement ICCPR and ICESCR Article 2
Human rights protection provisions in the two Covenants have domestic legal status.
Article 8
All laws, regulations, directions and administrative measures incompatible to the two Covenants should be amended within two years after the Act enters into force by new laws, law amendments, law abolitions and improved administrative measures.
Taiwan hasn’t sign
Convention relating to the Status of
Refugees
Refugees from China
seek for political asylum
Because of the language and culture
are similar, Chinese dissents started
to exile to Taiwan from 2002
According to National
Immigration Agency, Taiwan, so
far ,there are 9 Chinese
dissents stay in Taiwan
Most of them used a boat to escaped
from China and swam to Kinmen
Then, they would be sent to the
detention center by the coast guard
Recognize their identity
2002, the first Chinese dissent came to
Taiwan for seeking political asylum
TAHR went to the detention center to visit
the asylum seeker and recognized his
identity and status with other famous
overseas Chinese democratic activists, like
Wang Dan, and Democratic Asia Foundation
in New York.
After the recognition, TAHR asked Taiwan
government to provide asylum for them.
Since there is no Refugee Law or Asylum
Law in Taiwan, all these cases were all
solved by special project
Authority
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Mainland Affairs Council
National Immigration Agency(set up
in 2005)
Related Law
Immigration Act
Act Governing Relations Between
The People Of The Taiwan Area And
The Mainland Area
Except the first asylum seeker was
sent to U.S. by Taiwan government,
others all stay in Taiwan since the
relationship between China and U.S.
gets better
People who stay in Taiwan cannot get
any jobs since they only get the
temporary visa.
The visa should be renewed every 3
months.
Mainland Affairs Council give them
20,000 NTD (about 659 USD) per month.
Two Chinese dissents ran into American Institution in
Taiwan(AIT) seeking for asylum and were rejected by
AIT
Tibetans
Dalai Lama lead more than 5000 Tibetans to India and set up exile government on 1959.
Thousands of Tibetans moved to India, Nepal every year.
Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Commission of R.O.C. went to India during 1989-1992 and promised to provide jobs and training for Tibetans.
Many Tibetans started to move to Taiwan.
After they came to Taiwan, they found that Taiwan government did not keep the promise.
They had no ID cards, no jobs, no health insurance.
They started to organize and struggle for residence visa and jobs.
Legislative Yuan revised the Immigration
Law to allow these Tibetans to apply residence visa on 2009.
Article 16
Stateless people from India or Nepal who have entered the Taiwan Area between 21st May 1999 and 31st December 2008 and cannot be repatriated may be allowed to reside in the Taiwan Area by the NIA if their status has been identified by the Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Commission..
How did taiwan government
recognize their status?
You have to sing Tibetan National Song.
Some of them cannot sing, and didn’t get long term
residence visa.
The descendants of the R.O.C. army
in Thai-Myanmar after WWII
Stateless Thai-Myanmar students
Half century ago, ROC army fight with China liberty army in
Myanmar and North Thailand.
Some soldiers of ROC army and their descendants stranded
in Myanmar and North Thailand, and became stateless.
For promotion Chinese language, Ministry of Education of
ROC recruited students in Myanmar and North Thailand.
Thai-Myanmar Students came to Taiwan and were still
stateless, and might be repatriated to Myanmar after they
graduated from school.
TAHR, Judicial Reform Foundation, Legal
Aid Foundation and Thai-Myanmar Chinese Refugee Rights Association asked
Taiwan government to revise the
Immigration Law to allow these students to
stay in Taiwan and get nationality
Article 16 Stateless people or non-citizen ROC nationals from Thailand,
Myanmar, or Indonesia who have entered the country before this Act
was enforced and cannot be repatriated may be allowed to reside in
the Taiwan Area by the NIA.
Stateless people and non-citizen ROC nationals from Thailand or
Myanmar who have been allowed to enter the country for the
purposes of attending school or receiving technical training by the
Ministry of Education or the Overseas Copatrot Affairs Commission
between 21st May 1999 and 31st December 2008 and cannot be
repatriated may be allowed to reside in the Taiwan Area by the NIA.
So far, there are 875 Thai-Myanmar
students get Overseas Compatriot
residence visa in Taiwan.
178 students permitted to naturalized to
Taiwan
Stateless people
Nelson Isamade Country: Sierra Leone
Nelson stayed in Hsin-Chu Detention Center
for 6 years, and was announced stateless by
NIA, since his country was facing civil war on
2003
So far, Nelson is settled in a Charity NPO as
a volunteer. The NPO provide food and
housing for him.
NIA still wish to send him back to his country
after the civil war.
Refugee Act in Taiwan
後續處置
Timeline of Refugee Act
2006, DPP government sent Refugee Act draft
(including Chinese people) to the Legislative
Yuan for reviewing.
Dec.2009: KMT government modified draft of
Refugee Act (excluding Chinese) to the
Legislative Yuan .
The KMT government said that they will
revise the Act Governing Relations Between
The People Of The Taiwan Area And The
Mainland Area
However, according to the revised articles of the
Act, Taiwan government didn’t permit Chinese
people with illegal entrance to apply long-stay
residence visa.
According to the meeting with NIA on Sep. 26,
they said they have revised article 17 again to
accept Chinese dissents with illegal entrance to
apply long-stay residence visa
Refugee recognition condition Any foreign national or stateless person, who
departed his/her original nation or residing
country because of racial, religious, ethnic, or
political reasons, or for reasons pertaining to
belonging to certain social organizations or being
a political dissident, and who also demonstrates
legitimate fear for persecution, and thus will no
longer receive protection from or be able to return
his/her original nation, may apply for refugee
recognition in our country.
Article 3
The competent authorities will first
consult the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHRC) for assistance on
recognition or for other referrals of
refugees through the UNHRC
However, Taiwan is not a member of UN.
We don’t know how they prepare to
contact UNHCR?
If the government pass the Refugee Law,
it will need more assistances from
NGOs and international refugee rights
NGOs.
The whole Refugee Act is only about the recognition on refugees, but not mention about the rights and obligation.
We still worried about if the Chinese dissents cannot be recognized as refugees, it may still be a problem about how to protect and fulfill their related rights in Taiwan .
So far, Refugee Law has not passed by the
Legislative Yuan.
Act Governing Relations Between The People
Of The Taiwan Area And The Mainland Area
isn’t revised, too.
Immigrants and Migrants’ Rights Alliance
TAHR(Taiwan Association for Human Rights)
TASA (TransAsia Sisters Association)
New Immigrants Labor Rights Association
TIFA(Taiwan International Family Association)
Awaking Foundation
SEEWA (Social Environmental and Educational
Welfare Association)
APMM (Asia Pacific Mission for Migrants)
Migrante-International-Taiwan Chapter
Detention Center
There are no refugee shulters in Taiwan, asylum
seekers all have to send to detention centers
There are 6 detention centers in Taiwan for
foreigners with illegal entrance, over date stay, or
human trafficking issues.