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.