Taiwan's Cabinet approves draft bill on new immigrants' rights

Taipei, June 21 (CNA) The Cabinet on Friday approved a draft bill that if passed by the Legislature will provide a clearer definition of the term "new immigrant" and better protect the rights and interests of such individuals in Taiwan.

According to an Executive Yuan release, the new immigrants' rights protection act, proposed by the Ministry of the Interior (MOI), seeks to "comprehensively enhance the well-being and rights protections of new immigrants and provide them with a friendlier living environment."

The draft contains a total of 19 articles, one of which includes a passage that defines new immigrants as foreign nationals, stateless individuals, people from China, Hong Kong or Macau and their dependents who are allowed to legally reside long-term or permanently in the Taiwan area.

The term new immigrant also applies to foreign nationals married to Republic of China (Taiwan) nationals who have a valid household registration in Taiwan, as well as those who apply to reside in the country based on investment or professional skills.

The proposed draft would establish a government agency dedicated to managing new immigrant-related issues, as well as codify into law the promotion of various rights-related measures.

At the same time, it would also give the government's New Immigrants Development Fund a legal basis to provide care and guidance to new immigrants and their children.

Furthermore, in order to help new immigrant families adapt to living in Taiwan, the draft stipulates that the government should provide related consultation services on marriage and child-rearing, as well as offer incentives to learn languages and dialects spoken in Taiwan.

Meanwhile, the bill also touches on matters related to the rights and interests of new immigrants in the areas of employment services, culture and education, health and medical care, and social welfare.

The draft bill will be submitted to the Legislative Yuan for deliberation.

Speaking to reporters at a press conference, Interior Minister Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said Taiwan's new immigrants, including the first generation of children born to them, currently number around 1 million.

With a dedicated agency to be established under the bill, Liu said he hopes the Cabinet will allocate the necessary personnel for it to ensure in the future new immigrant affairs are handled by dedicated people.

Citing Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) at the press event, Cabinet spokesperson Chen Shi-kai (陳世凱) said the proposed legislation will signal to the world that Taiwan is open to foreign professionals with skills and capital, and welcomes them to put down long-term roots and ultimately become naturalized citizens.