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Taiwan Imposes Entry Ban on
Non-Citizen Children of Mainland Spouses |
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On whether minors of mainland Chinese spouses who have yet to obtain R.O.C. nationality may enter Taiwan, the DPP administration reversed policy several times in a day.
(Photo from: China Times) |
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Children of Mainland Chinese Spouses Stranded! Fickle DPP Administration Changes Policy Multiple Times
China Times, February 12, 2020
The coronavirus continues to spread on the Chinese mainland. Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) previously announced suspending entry of mainland Chinese people into Taiwan. Those mainland Chinese spouses with Taiwan resident permits are not subject to this suspension rule. However, if their children do not yet have Taiwanese nationality, they may not return to Taiwan with their parents.
Based on family ethics considerations, the MAC on the afternoon of February 11 announced the entry clearance for mainland Chinese spouses’ children into Taiwan during the epidemic prevention period, which caused panic among the people. MAC Minister Chen Ming-tong rose to the situation and went to the frontline in that evening and explained that he had received a lot of petitions over the past week, to the effect that if a child, alias "Little Ming" had been living and studying in Taiwan for a long time, and he visited relatives in mainland China during the New Year’s break but is now unable to return home. Therefore, based on humanity MAC Minister Chen announced the relaxation of conditions to slightly open the door for those children like “Little Ming” whose parents are in Taiwan, and mainland Chinese relatives are unable to take care of them. Chen’s explanation failed to relieve people’s apprehension. In the next morning, Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung, who heads the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC), further announced the withdrawal of all those measures. Thus, those children who do not have Taiwanese nationality and are still stranded in mainland China, Hong Kong and Macao will not be permitted entry into Taiwan.
Minister Chen Shih-chung said that it was understandable that the MAC received many people ’s petitions in a hope to return to Taiwan, but considering China’s epidemic situation and the practical need to reduce the flow of people from the affected areas in order to protect Taiwanese people, hence the withdrawal of all those measures governing the aforesaid children’s returning to Taiwan. However, those with our nationality will not be affected.
Minister Chen said that in the entire situation, there are three principles in epidemic prevention. For people in Taiwan, medical treatment is absolutely non-discriminatory, i.e. no matter who they are, we will do our best to treat them. Home quarantine will also be managed without discrimination. There will be distinctions at the border control because people of our nationality will have priority. There are many Taiwanese businessmen in mainland China, and there will be home visits for ancestral worship at Qingming Festival in early April, if we open the floodgate now, we will worry about insufficient medical capacity.
The MAC first announced at the CECC that "children of mainland Chinese spouses holding long-term residence permits or long-term family visit permits will be allowed to enter Taiwan." A press conference was held again by the MAC later to release the controversial "Little Ming's story" coupled with the additional two conditions including subject children being underage and having no relatives to take care of them in the mainland; late at night, the MAC's press release adjusted the policy for the third time and added the restriction that "both parents are in Taiwan." Eventually, Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung ruled that those mainland Chinese spouses’ children who do not have Taiwanese nationality and are still stranded in China, Hong Kong, and Macao would not be permitted entry into Taiwan.
From: https://www.chinatimes.com/realtimenews/20200212002456-260405
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Cross-Strait Relationship: Love in the Time of Coronavirus
China Times Editorial, February 13, 2020
As Taiwan continues to battle the spreading coronavirus, the issue of whether to allow the entry of Taiwanese citizens who remain in mainland China and children of Taiwanese and mainland Chinese spouses to enter Taiwan has stirred political debate. The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) had detoured four times in its decisions, and explanations by MAC Minister Chen Ming-tong have only made things more complicated and evoked public criticism on the Internet. After President Tsai Ing-wen intervened and ordered the Central Epidemic Command Center to reconsider, Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung decided to close the border to children of Taiwanese and mainland Chinese spouses who do not have Taiwanese nationality from entering Taiwan.
The reason of the Tsai administration is that the coronavirus is spreading at its peak and the ban is to reduce the risk of the flow of people from epidemic affected areas; so blocking the epidemic has become the explanation in responding to the opinion on the Internet and the ban of entry of children of mainland Chinese spouses. However, it is debatable whether allowing mainland Chinese spouses and their children to enter Taiwan would create a crack of the defense line against epidemic or overburden our public health system to make our defense a failure to succeed for the lack of final effort that would endanger the health of our nationals. As a contrast, during evacuations of their nationals, Japanese and South Korean governments had allowed the entry of mainland Chinese spouses and they have negotiated actively with China’s governmental agencies to solve the evacuees’ problems of passports and visas. Taiwan should feel ashamed to see the respect for human rights and humanity shown by the Japanese and South Korean governments.
To examine the process of debates, the real reason to ban the entry of children of mainland Chinese spouses is not the defense against epidemic, it is politics. The Tsai administration has catered to the opinions of the netizens. According to opinion polls on the Internet, 80 percent of people supported the prohibition of exporting of facial masks and suspensions of Big and Mini Three Links and the suspensions of flights from second and third levels of mainland Chinese cities. More than 90 percent of the polled even supported the complete terminations of cross-strait transportations if the epidemic further spreads. President Tsai’s campaign image as a “Spicy Taiwanese Girl” continues to sell well; that is, when encountering China, as long as Tsai maintains the hard line, she could satisfy the demands of the people and sustain a high degree of support.
Politicians should listen to the public opinion and not be obstinate, but if they make all decisions according to Internet opinions, their policies will be held hostage by populism and lack rational deliberations. In addition, battling epidemic is a scientific and public health issue, likes or dislikes by public opinion may deviate from objective and scientific arguments and become fears of coronavirus or sentiments of “anti-China” or “resist China”.
The purpose of a government is to guard the safety of its citizens. No matter where the citizens are situated, the protection by their government should not be absent. As an international common practice, it is printed on the inner cover of passports that the foreign minister request all governments to permit their nationals to pass freely and give all aid and protection. But when a specific country has emergencies and cannot offer such protection, the evacuation of overseas nationals has become necessary. While cross-strait relations are not international relations, this principle should apply. The Tsai administration has the obligation to help Taiwanese people who remain on the mainland to return and not make things more difficult or make them sacrificial lambs of dissatisfaction by public opinion with mainland authorities.
Japan showed the spirit of empathy towards China and gave assistance passionately. Taiwan, on the other hand, showed indifference and the Internet opinions relentlessly criticized Vice President-elect William Lai’s statement that’s “if Taiwan and the international community can help China, it actually helps Taiwan”. These criticisms have cornered the Mainland Affairs Council when making decisions.
In this age of globalization, all countries are neighbors. Our economic and trade relations are intertwined and we share the same good fortunes or bad fortunes. The issue is not the domestic politics or unification versus independence debates. After the breakout of Wuhan’s novel coronavirus epidemic, the global economy has been afflicted, and Taiwan is not excepted. The Tsai administration has allocated NT$60 billion (about US$2 billion) as special budget to issue coupons for night markets restaurants in order to revitalize domestic consumption. But if the epidemic cannot be controlled effectively, the NT$60 billion budget would be utterly inadequate.
To smear the Chinese mainland will not alleviate the threat of the epidemic and make Taiwan stronger; rather it will create bad karma. To use the epidemic to escalate the sentiments of “loathing China” will make the cross-strait relations unmanageable after the epidemic is over and become a big trouble of President Tsai’s second term. China may exaggerate when they accused Taiwan “to use the epidemic to plan for independence”, but the statement “to use the epidemic to gain benefits” actually reflects the deterioration of cross-strait sentiments and shakes the foundation of cross-strait peace.
In his work
Love in the Time of Cholera, Nobel laureate Gabriel Garcia Marquez depicts that the resilience of human nature in desperate situations can make people overcome pains and difficulties and find the real world within. President Tsai, who garnered the votes of 8.17 million supporters, should have enough courage and wisdom to lead her supporters to advance on the road of Taiwan’s peace and prosperity.
The novel coronavirus is the public enemy of human health, but it can also be the opportunity for either side of the Taiwan Strait to offer olive branches. If we have empathy towards our compatriots, the coronavirus can serve as a window of opportunity to restore the cross-strait relationship, enabling Taiwan to break a destiny of self-isolation.
From: https://www.chinatimes.com/opinion/20200213004808-262101
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In a Facebook post, former President Ma Ying-jeou said that epidemic prevention should be balanced with humanity and human rights. Ma called upon Taiwan's government to permit the children of mainland Chinese spouses to return to Taiwan and reunite with their parents. |
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Epidemic Prevention and Humanity: Let the Children Come Home and Reunite with Their Parents
By Ma Ying-jeou
Facebook Post, February 14, 2020
On November 20, 2014, the “International Day for the Rights of the Child,” I announced as president the promulgation of the “Implementation Act of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.” Although the Republic of China (Taiwan) is not a party to the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), which entered into force in 1990, the CRC became legally effective in Taiwan as domestic law. This has enabled Taiwan to be in line with international standards related to rights protections of minors. When exercising their functions and powers, central and local governments must comply with the provisions of the Convention concerning the protection of children and juvenile rights.
Article 2 of the CRC stipulates that the rights of children may not be designated against because of the nationality, ethnicity, or social background of children or their parents. Article 9 demands that children should not be separated from their parents against the wishes of their parents. Article 10 further states that when children or their parents request entry or exit to be reunited, governments have an obligation to deal with the matter promptly and humanely.
On November 20, 2017, while she attended the first national report on the implementation of the CRC, President Tsai Ing-wen particularly emphasized the government’s determination to protect human rights and stated that it would continue to implement the Convention and protect the dignity and rights of children. However, with the outbreak of the coronavirus, the Tsai administration has taken measures that contradict the spirit of the Implementation Act and make us worry about the lack of humanity and regression of human rights protections.
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) originally allowed children of Taiwanese with a mainland Chinese spouse to apply on a special basis to come to Taiwan. Conditions include that the child must be underage, does not have relatives in the Chinese mainland who can care for the child, and has parents in Taiwan. However, the policy was soon withdrawn after President Tsai ordered a review. Moreover, Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung, who heads the Central Epidemic Command Center, even stressed: “They [parents] had the option to choose their nationality in the first place, but they did not choose Taiwan, so they must make proper arrangements for themselves and bear the consequences now.”
As a matter of fact, according to current regulations, it is much more difficult for children born to a Taiwanese citizen and a mainland Chinese spouse to obtain R.O.C. nationality, compared to children born to foreign nationals. It is not because the children have not chosen Taiwan. Rather, even if they would like to naturalize, the children must endure a long waiting period. President Tsai, who once led the MAC from 2000 to 2004, must be clear about this. As the MAC stated at the beginning, these children should b granted entry based on family and humanitarian considerations. “We cannot let the children who have lived in Taiwan for many years to roam on the streets.”
However, at the behest of President Tsai, those who had chosen and lived in Taiwan but were unable to obtain their nationality cannot return to Taiwan to reunite with their families. These children are subjects protected by the Implementation Act of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The governing authority of the Implementation Act is the Ministry of Health and Welfare, whose minister asked parents to brave the consequences for not choosing Taiwanese nationality for their children.
We support full-heartedly the government’s measures to contain the epidemic. But even under comprehensive quarantine measures, immigration control can take an approach more consistent with human rights and humanity.
President Tsai once said: “Immigrants and migrant workers are all a part of Taiwan.” Aren’t these children whose parents are not by them also a part of Taiwan? Hasn’t Taiwan always been a country based upon human rights and proud of the rule of law? President Tsai, let the children come home and reunite with their parents. Don’t let populism crush human rights and prejudice override humanity.
(The author formerly served as president of the Republic of China from 2008 to 2016.)
From: https://www.facebook.com/MaYingjeou/photos/a.140389499356524/2996330120429100/
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February 10: The Tourism Bureau of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications stated that, in conjunction with epidemic prevention measures, it would continue to suspend travel agencies assembling tour groups to mainland China until April 30, including transit through the mainland to travel to other regions.
February 13: The spread of the coronavirus has affected consumer markets. The Executive Yuan announced that it would create a special budget of NT$60 billion (about US$2 billion) to bail out affected industries. The special budget includes NT$2 billion (about US$66.6 million) in reimbursement vouchers, which may be used after the epidemic. The Executive Yuan also announced that the export ban and government collection of surgical face masks would be extended until the end of April.
February 14: The Philippines stated on February 10 that because the World Health Organization listed Taiwan as a part of China, under a “one China” policy, it would extend the travel ban applicable to mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macau to Taiwan as well. Because of the sudden policy change, hundreds of Taiwanese travelers were sent back. After four days of diplomatic negotiations, the Philippines lifted its travel ban on Taiwan.
February 14: The case involving Internet celebrity Yang Hui-ju opened in the Taipei District Court. Yang, appearing for the first time after the election, claimed that she was spontaneously clarifying China’s false news. Prosecutors criticized Yang’s abuse of the Internet to incite a public outcry and insult the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Osaka. Yang’s actions crossed the line of free speech and served to humiliate the nation.
February 15: The crash of the UH-60M Black Hawk helicopter on January 2 led to the death of high-level military personnel including Chief of the General Staff Shen Yi-ming. According to an investigative report by the Air Force Command Headquarters, a combination of environmental and human factors contributed to the accident. The helicopter encountered sudden changes in the weather and had to climb through especially mountainous areas before it crashed.
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Taiwan Weekly is a newsletter released every week by Fair Winds Foundation and Association of Foreign Relations that provides coverage and perspectives into the latest developments in Taiwan.
The conclusions and recommendations of any
Taiwan Weekly article are solely those of its author(s), and do not reflect the views of the institutions that publish the newsletter.
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