Taiwan will require Hongkongers seeking to settle on the self-ruled island to undergo a “national security observation period” and will introduce a new long-term visa for them, a local minister has said.
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Chiu Chui-cheng, Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council minister, was reported by local media on Sunday as saying the island needed to bolster security requirements for Hongkongers applying for all types of residency given changes in Hong Kong and shifts in the make-up of its population following an influx of mainland Chinese.
Authorities planned to introduce a new “long-term residency” visa for Hongkongers who wished to travel freely to work in Taiwan without applying for permanent residency, he added.
“We will include a national security observation period to ensure overall safety on crowd control,” he said on the sidelines of an event.
“[The long-term residency visa] serves as an additional option for Hongkongers, while it acts as a safety measure for Taiwanese.”
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According to Taiwanese media, local authorities are still studying the details of the new visa scheme, under which Hongkongers will not be allowed to hold a Taiwanese identification card or take part in elections.
One Taiwanese media outlet on Monday cited sources as saying local authorities planned to tighten the requirement for Hongkongers applying for permanent residency to tackle a “national security loophole”.