國際特赦組織公布民調，近六成台灣民眾支持難民法     

Amnesty International Taiwan Poll Reveals Nearly 60% of Taiwanese Support Refugee Legislation 

08 November 2024

Amnesty International Taiwan held a press conference on 8 November 2024 to present the findings of a commissioned survey that aimed to better understand Taiwanese public awareness and support for refugee legislation. The survey found that more than half (52.4%) of respondents supported a refugee law upfront. After respondents received additional information, including on the definition of refugees under international law, the current situation of refugees in Taiwan, and the draft law's details, support increased to nearly 60% (59.3%). 

The National Immigration Agency (NIA) has employed specific measures and schemes to support asylum seekers from war-affected areas, including Myanmar and Ukraine, who wish to remain in Taiwan. However, as demonstrated by the individual cases received by Amnesty International Taiwan and other partner organisations, even those supported by schemes continue to face challenges when renewing their visa and unable to work or live in dignity.   

The tabling of refugee legislation to the Legislative Yuan is therefore an important opportunity to make progress on rights protections, with a majority of public support, but Amnesty urges additional resources to increase public awareness and education about these issues. 

Taiwanese still lack enough understanding of the challenges for asylum seekers in Taiwan

The survey was conducted by a third-party organisation, Focus Survey Research, at the end of August 2024.  Using telephone interviews, it produced a representative sample of 1,078 residents aged 18 and over across Taiwan. With a 95% confidence level, the sampling error is approximately ±2.98 percentage points. The results were weighted based on demographic data from the Ministry of the Interior. 

The results showed that over 70% of the public (74.1%) said they believed they understood the meaning of "refugee." However, many were unfamiliar with Taiwan's refugee situation and related information about refugee legislation — 65% of respondents were unaware that many foreign nationals in Taiwan are refugees and cannot return to their home countries because they would risk persecution due to their political opinion, nationality, religion race or membership of a political group, and over 80% (81.2%) did not know that Taiwan currently lacks refugee legislation. Additionally, nearly 90% (88.1%) were unaware that the three major political parties in Taiwan — DPP (Democratic Progressive Party), KMT (Kuomintang), and TPP (Taiwan People's Party) — had all proposed draft refugee legislation since 2005. 

Moreover, only 18.7% of respondents knew that the refugee protection mechanism proposed in the draft legislation includes background checks on individual cases, while just 13.3% were aware that refugees who pass these checks would have the right to reside and work in Taiwan, paying taxes like other residents. 

Taiwan’s international obligations: non-refoulement and protection of the right to asylum

Taiwan's existing laws lack provisions for non-refoulement. The principle of non-refoulement is a norm of customary international law that prohibits States from transferring or removing individuals from their jurisdiction or effective control when there are substantial grounds for believing that the person would be at risk of irreparable harm upon return, including persecution, torture, ill-treatment or other serious human rights violations.  

Further, existing legislation fails to adequately protect the rights of refugees and stateless individuals in Taiwan. As of now, asylum seekers can obtain temporary relief from forced deportation through the one-year "Temporary Residence Certificate for Foreigners." However, this system does not guarantee other fundamental rights such as the right to work, health, and education.  

Amnesty International has consistently called on the Taiwanese authorities to ensure the right to asylum and to protect asylum seekers and refugees, including by granting them legal status and ensuring they can enjoy their rights.  

In June 2023, Amnesty International's Secretary-General Agnès Callamard visited Taiwan, where she explored efforts in Taiwan to address key human rights issues, including the challenges faced by refugees and asylum-seekers. At the time, she was clear that the lack of refugee legislation had “eminently negative” implications for all asylum-seekers, whatever their national origin, and urged the adoption of protection mechanisms specifically, and more broadly clear and transparent legal pathways for refugees to access all basic rights guaranteed by international human rights law.  

Independent international human rights experts have repeatedly urged Taiwan to expedite the adoption of refugee legislation during three previous domestic “implementation reviews”. This process, unique to Taiwan, mirrors the UN treaty body review process to assess the implementation of Taiwanese legislation that directly incorporates the provisions of international human rights law: for the time being, specifically the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. 

Amnesty International Taiwan's section Director E-Ling Chiu stressed that the process of adopting refugee legislation has been delayed for 20 years, since a draft law was first proposed in 2005, despite repeated calls for progress by Taiwan’s civil society groups and exile communities. The government and most legislators have often cited "lack of social consensus" as a reason for the delays. However, the recent survey shows that nearly 60% of the public expresses support for the draft law after receiving some information about its contents. Therefore, she urged the Taiwanese government to promptly pass a refugee legislation that meets international standards. 

“Protection of refugees is a pressing global issue, and Taiwan, which has consistently positioned itself to uphold international human rights standards, cannot remain indifferent. Without refugee legislation, Taiwan not only fails to fully make good on its commitments to protect and promote human rights of all within its jurisdiction, but it also risks breaching international obligations, such as the principle of non-refoulement. This would not merely endanger the lives and rights of foreign nationals but can also result in losses to Taiwanese society and the economy.”  

Amnesty International calls on the government in Taiwan to implement all concluding observations and recommendations from domestic human rights reviews and to complete the legislative process for an internationally-compliant law on refugees and asylum seekers by the end of 2024, while also expediting the review of existing cases. 

Background

Taiwan still lacks a refugee law; therefore, when an asylum case emerges, Taiwanese authorities can only handle it on a case-by-case basis with no clear procedure made publicly available for asylum seekers to follow, nor remedy for applicants to appeal.  

Even though some judicial decisions have recognised the principle of non-refoulement, and some legal provisions offer Chinese, Hong Kong, and Macao people seeking asylum to obtain temporary resident permit, Taiwan does not provide asylum seekers with effective protection. 

In 2013 and 2017, the International Review Committee on the Implementation of the International Human Rights Covenants (the “Committee”) recommended “the speedy adoption of a Refugee Act, which should also include the principle of non-refoulement.” In 2022, the Committee, again, recommended Taiwan to “consider the ratification of other universal human rights treaties, such as the 1951 Convention on the Status of Refugees and its Protocol.”