Did you know that there is a campaign underway in Taiwan that is calling for foreign permanent residents to be able to apply for dual nationality, effectively allowing them to obtain Taiwanese citizenship after 5 years without giving up their original passport?
An online petition for this proposal was launched on August 19th and they are trying to collect 5,000 signatures to support it by October 19th: https://join.gov.tw/idea/detail/951c745d-4484-4923-953f-4cdaefe7f344
I recently spoke with Michael Fahey, about this campaign which was initiated by Crossroads and Forward Taiwan. We talked about many of the most common concerns raised by a proposal like this, given the sensitive position that Taiwan is in due to the threats it faces from the PRC (People’s Republic of China).
Michael is an American lawyer and resident of Taipei since 1988. He is foreign counsel at Formosa Transnational (萬國) and also founder of Forward Taiwan.
If you’d like to sign the online petition to expand access to dual nationality for long-term foreign permanent residents of Taiwan, please note a few things:
1) In order to be able to sign the petition you must be a citizen of Taiwan or holder of an A(P)RC (Alien Permanent Resident Certificate) and have a Taiwan mobile number.
2) When filling out the petition form it’s best to use a computer not a smart phone but have your phone nearby and have patience when going through the process.
3) Whether or not you are personally able to sign the petition, please consider also sharing this with friends, family or colleagues who would and are able to support it.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- How the proposal to expand access to dual nationality for long-term foreign permanent residents of Taiwan came about
- The case of Michael Boyden, a British citizen and permanent resident of Taiwan
- How Taiwan’s nationality law was drafted in the 1920s and how it compares with other countries laws on nationality
- How Taiwan’s nationality law is not symmetrical for native-born Taiwanese and naturalizing foreign citizens
- How expanding access to dual nationality for long-term foreign permanent residents of Taiwan could make Taiwan more resilient
- How immigration could be a way to deal with Taiwan becoming a super-aged society
- Concerns about whether this proposal will make it easier PRC (People’s Republic of China) citizens to immigrate to Taiwan and become citizens
- PRC (People’s Republic of China) citizens are governed by a different law; the act for the relations between peoples of the mainland and the Taiwan region
- The proposal is to change the nationality law not the act for the relations between peoples of the mainland and the Taiwan region
- How to handle concerns about PRC citizens who’ve naturalized in third countries using their foreign citizenship to come and naturalize in Taiwan
- How the fear that crime would go up is unfounded because foreign nationals in Taiwan commit crimes at a rate of 50 percent of the native population
- What exactly is being proposed
- The procedure for foreign permanent residents in Taiwan to obtain dual Taiwanese citizenship
- The types of people and special cases that have been granted dual Taiwanese citizenship
- The standards required for foreign permanent residents in Taiwan to be granted dual Taiwanese citizenship
- Cases of foreign permanent residents in Taiwan that applied and failed to attain dual Taiwanese citizenship
- How the process to get the nationality law amended could actually be a very long process that could take 5-20 years
- Arguments for and against the proposal
- How people who wish to sign the online petition must be citizens of Taiwan and have a Taiwan mobile number
- When filling out the petition it’s best to do so on a computer and not on a smart phone, but to keep your mobile phone nearby
- Have patience in filling out the online petition form because the interface is a bit difficult to use
- How foreign permanent residents can’t get household registration and how that limits them
- Reasons people would like to get dual Taiwanese citizenship
- How to deal with individuals who have dual nationalities
- How male citizens of Taiwan under the age of 36 are required to serve in the military
- How Taiwan could take steps to ensure that people serve in the military
Related Links:
The campaign and petition by Crossroads and Forward Taiwan to expand access to dual nationality for long-term foreign permanent residents of Taiwan: https://join.gov.tw/idea/detail/951c745d-4484-4923-953f-4cdaefe7f344
Crossroads: https://crossroads.tw/
https://www.facebook.com/CrossroadsTaiwan
Disability Rights Win: Michael Boyden Is 1st Briton Eligible for Benefits: https://www.taiwanplus.com/news/taiwan-news/health/240126021/disability-rights-win-michael-boyden-is-1st-briton-eligible-for-benefits
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_Progressive_Party
Taiwan on pace to become ‘super-aged society’ this year: https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/news/5107187
PRC (People’s Republic of China) : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China
Former aide to New York governors charged with acting as an agent of the Chinese government: https://www.cnn.com/2024/09/03/us/linda-sun-former-hochul-staff-arrest/index.html
Audrey Tang: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audrey_Tang
Taiwan’s Vice President Bi-Khim Hsiao: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hsiao_Bi-khim
https://english.president.gov.tw/Page/649
Taiwan’s Legislative Yuan: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legislative_Yuan
https://www.ly.gov.tw/Engpages/index.aspx
New law widens scope of experimental education: https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2018/01/21/2003686165
‘We traveled thousands of miles for a child’ — is Taiwan ready for surrogacy?: https://focustaiwan.tw/society/202406150008
Redefining a family: The quest to amend Taiwan’s Assisted Reproduction Act
https://focustaiwan.tw/society/202406150009Hakka
Indigenous people of Taiwan: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taiwanese_indigenous_peoples
Politically Loaded Words of the Pro-China Crowd: https://tw.forumosa.com/t/politically-loaded-words-of-the-pro-china-crowd/10692
Tudi Gong (Earth God) in Taiwan: https://nspp.mofa.gov.tw/nsppe/news.php?post=229974&unit=412&unitname=RELATED-READS&postname=The-Earth-God:-Guardian-of-Home-and-Harvest
Mazu (aka Matsu, the goddess of the sea): https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mazu_(goddess)
Zhongzi (rice dumplings) in Taiwan: https://oftaiwan.org/culture/food-and-drinks/rice-dumpling-zongzi/
HSR (High Speed Rail) in Taiwan: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taiwan_High_Speed_Rail
Double Ninth Day, Explained｜Wish You Were Here (from TaiwanPlus): https://youtu.be/6nJtEpdBdJg?si=edX2-ApVK87O3Nbb
A Path to Dual Nationality in Taiwan: https://ketagalanmedia.com/2024/08/27/a-path-to-dual-nationality-in-taiwan/
Michael Fahey of Forward Taiwan Talks About the Gold Card Program Ep 182
Michael Fahey of Forward Taiwan Talks About the Gold Card Program Ep 182: https://talkingtaiwan.com/michael-fahey-of-forward-taiwan-talks-about-the-gold-card-program-ep-182/
Professor Scott Simon: Taiwan’s Indigenous Peoples and Their Connection to Ecology Ep 99
Professor Scott Simon: Taiwan’s Indigenous Peoples and Their Connection to Ecology Ep 99: https://talkingtaiwan.com/scott-simon-taiwans-indigenous-peoples-and-their-connection-to-ecology-ep-99/
Tony Coolidge: Finding his Indigenous Roots in Taiwan Ep 112
Tony Coolidge: Finding his Indigenous Roots in Taiwan Ep 112: https://talkingtaiwan.com/tony-coolidge-finding-his-indigenous-roots-in-taiwan-ep-112/
Tony Coolidge Talks About his Work with Indigenous Bridges Ep 113
Tony Coolidge Talks About his Work with Indigenous Bridges Ep 113: https://talkingtaiwan.com/tony-coolidge-talks-about-his-work-with-indigenous-bridges-ep-113/
Edouard Roquette Talks About his Life-Changing Scooter Accident and Playing Tiger Man Ep 204
Edouard Roquette Talks About his Life-Changing Scooter Accident and Playing Tiger Man Ep 204: https://talkingtaiwan.com/edouard-roquette-talks-about-his-life-changing-scooter-accident-and-playing-tiger-man-ep-204/
TH Schee: Lessons Taiwan has Learned from the Nantou and Hualien Earthquakes Ep 281
TH Schee: Lessons Taiwan has Learned from the Nantou and Hualien Earthquakes Ep 281: https://talkingtaiwan.com/th-schee-survivor-of-taiwans-most-powerful-earthquakes-gives-a-lesson-on-preparing-for-natural-disasters-ep-281/