New immigrant basic law passed, new agency to be set up

Taipei, July 17 (CNA) The Legislative Yuan has passed a new law focusing on new immigrants that will require the Ministry of the Interior (MOI) to set up a new administrative agency to help them deal with issues they face in adapting to life in Taiwan.

Under the new immigrant basic act passed Tuesday, the MOI is responsible for its implementation and setting up a "third-level" administrative agency -- which is one notch below a "ministry" -- to specifically help with the care, education, employment and empowerment of new immigrants.

The act defines the term "new immigrants" as foreign nationals, stateless persons, and individuals from China, Hong Kong, or Macao who are permitted to reside, reside as dependents, reside long-term, or reside permanently in Taiwan, or whose spouses are Taiwan nationals with household registration in Taiwan.

The act's protections extend to the children of new immigrants, and foreign nationals who reside in Taiwan through different immigration schemes, such as professional and investment immigration, are also covered under the definition.

It does not cover overseas migrant workers in Taiwan, according to the MOI.

The newly passed act says that given the difficulties new immigrants can face in adapting to the language, culture, and daily life in Taiwan, the government should help them with counseling, medical and maternity health care, employment rights protection, and education and culture empowerment.

The authorities should also be committed to providing multilingual services, the act says.

The act also specifies that the government should provide language resources to new immigrants to eliminate language barriers, while encouraging relevant agencies and organizations to provide employment services for new immigrants.

Meanwhile, local governments should establish "New Immigrant Family Service Centers" to provide family, marriage, and parenting counseling services for new immigrant families, as well as resources for psychological and legal consultation referrals.

The MOI, which originally proposed the legislation, said in a statement Wednesday that the act clearly stipulates the protection of various rights and interests of new immigrants, including employment, interpretation, and access to media.

Interior Minister Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said the focus of the act is to expand the definition of new immigrants to include not only "marriage" immigrants but also professional and skilled immigrants.

"The government welcomes friends from all over the world to come to Taiwan and work together on this land," Liu said, according to the statement.

Liu said that including the first generation of children born to them, there are currently around 1 million new immigrants in Taiwan.

New immigrants are also encouraged to participate in public affairs, Liu said, noting that the management committee of the New Immigrants Development Fund should include representatives of new immigrants or their children, as suggested in the new act.

Nadia Liu (劉千萍), chairperson of the Taiwan Immigration Youth Alliance (TIYA) established on July 14 to give that million-strong community a voice, said many new or second-generation immigrants "don't particularly feel very encouraged or excited" after the passing of the act.

"The substantial content (of the act) lacks foresight, as most of it reuses existing immigration integration measures," she added, citing the example of the New Immigrants Development Fund, which has been in place since 2005.