Chen Ming-tong (L), Minister of Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) and Katharine Chang, Chairwoman of Taiwan's Hong Kong Economic and Cultural Co-operation Council, unveil a sign during a launch ceremony of the Taiwan-Hong Kong Office for Exchange and Services in Taipei on July 1, 2020. (AFP / Sam Yeh)

Misinformation about Taiwan's 'immigration restrictions' for Hong Kong citizens circulates online

This article is more than one year old.
Published on July 3, 2020 at 06:45
2 min read
By AFP Hong Kong

A purported list of immigration restrictions imposed by the Taiwanese Justice Ministry on "Hong Kong citizens" has been shared repeatedly in multiple Facebook and Twitter posts in June 2020. The posts claim Taiwan will only accept immigration applications from those with "immediate family in Taiwan" or who are "professionals" or "significant investors". The claim is misleading; in response to the posts, a spokesperson for Taiwan's National Immigration Agency told AFP on June 30, 2020 there was "no such information" in their guidelines; the Taiwanese Mainland Affairs Council website lists several other conditions for settlement status eligibility, including religious work and political asylum.

The purported list was published here on a Facebook group with more than 137,000 followers on June 25, 2020. The post has been shared more than 140 times.

A screenshot taken on July 1, 2020, of the misleading post

The image in the post features the logo and name of Taiwan’s Ministry of Justice in both Chinese and English at the top.

The traditional Chinese text in bullet form under the logo translates to English as: “Ministry of Justice imposes the following restrictions on Hong Kong citizens applying to emigrate to Taiwan
"1. Only accept family reunion applications from people with immediate family in Taiwan
"2. Only accept applications from professionals
"3. Only accept significant investors”.

The Facebook post's caption translates to English as: “Tsai Ing-wen [President of Taiwan] has taken action to close the back door! / You are dead!”

China imposed a new national security law on Hong Kong on June 30, 2020. Since major pro-democracy protests began in the territory last June, some Hong Kong residents have sought new lives abroad, with many turning to nearby democratic Taiwan, according to this AFP report.

The image was also shared on Facebook here and on Twitter here alongside a similar claim.

The claim, however, is misleading. The purported requirements for permanent residency listed in the posts are not a comprehensive list of immigration requirements stipulated by the Taiwanese authorities as of July 2020. There are multiple other pathways for Hong Kong citizens to become either residents or permanent residents of Taiwan, according to guidelines published by the Taiwanese government.

In response to the misleading posts, a spokesperson for Taiwan’s National Immigration Agency told AFP in an email on June 30: “There’s no such information”.

A spokesperson for Taiwan's Ministry of Justice also said the posts were "false" in an email to AFP on June 29.

Applying for residency in Taiwan

As of July 2020, a Hong Kong or Macau permanent resident can apply for recidency in Taiwan under 16 circumstances, according to Article 16 of these Taiwanese immigration regulations.

They can be seen in the screenshots below:

A screenshot of the circumstances for residency in Taiwan for Hong Kong citizens

A screenshot of the circumstances for residency in Taiwan for Hong Kong citizens

Information for permanent residents of Hong Kong and Macau who wish to apply for residency in Taiwan has also been published here by the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Hong Kong. According to the website, the page was last updated on June 9, 2020.

The list includes other conditions for residency in Taiwan that are not listed in the misleading claim, including people seeking protection for political reasons and those who plan to carry out religious work across the island.

Applying for permanent residency in Taiwan

Requirements for Hong Kong and Macau permanent residents to apply for registered permanent residence are listed here under Article 29. They can also be seen in the screenshot below:

Screenshot of regulation on registered permanent residence application for Hong Kong residents

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