National compensation for Chinese nationals sparks debate
Reported by Chiou Kuo-rong
Written by Lydia Ma
Are Chinese nationals eligible for “national” compensation in Taiwan? This question became a hot topic when landslides on the Suhua Highway recently claimed more than 20 Chinese tourists.
The tragedy soon turned into controversy when Taiwan’s Premier Wu Den-yih announced the government would use the Act Governing Relations Between the Peoples of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area to give “national” compensation to the families of these deceased Chinese tourists.
For those incensed by the Premier’s decision, the problem is self-evident. Chinese nationals cannot apply to Taiwan’s central or local governments for benefits that all ROC citizens have a right to, such as subsidies and compensations, because they aren’t citizens and haven’t fulfilled obligations the average Taiwanese must fulfill, such as paying taxes.
Besides demanding that Wu retract his offer, organizations such as Alliance of Referendum for Taiwan and Taiwan Justice Action Church also requested the Taiwanese electorate to act and rescind the Act Governing Relations Between the Peoples of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area. Led by their leader, Tsai Ting-kuei, members staged a protest in front of the Executive Yuan on November 3, 2010.
Chanting slogans such as “Taiwan and China – one country on each side!”, demonstrators protested that by invoking the Act Governing Relations Between the Peoples of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area in this matter, Premier Wu was tacitly agreeing that Taiwan and China’s relationship was that of “one country, two systems”, instead of “one country on each side”.
Chang Ming-you, CEO of Alliance of Referendum for Taiwan and Yi-Kuang Presbyterian Church member said his heart went out to the families of these Chinese tourists because they’d lost a loved one in Taiwan. However, he underscored that Chinese nationals are not Taiwanese citizens and have therefore no right to apply for national compensation.
Chang’s point of contention was that Premier Wu – a premier and top representative of Taiwan – shouldn’t hand out a compensation that is by definition only reserved for citizens and use Taiwanese taxpayers’ hard-earned money in this way when insurance companies and travel agencies had already given their own compensation package to these families as per their agreement with them.
As for the Act Governing Relations Between the Peoples of the Taiwan Area, Chang argued that it abolished according to the will of Taiwanese voters through a referendum.
