As you probably know, the Taiwan government will distribute NT$3600 in consumer vouchers each person in Taiwan today. I had originally thought that all foreigners living in Taiwan holding an Alien Resident Certificate would be eligible to receive the vouchers as Taiwan citizens, but later found out that only foreign spouses of Taiwan citizens are eligible. That leaves all of us unmarried foreigners and foreigners who are not married to Taiwan citizens ineligible to receive the vouchers, in spite of the fact that we are legally residing in Taiwan and pay taxes to the Taiwan government. My colleague called the Immigration Bureau on Saturday to ask why there is this discrepancy and was told that if the policy allowed all ARC holders in Taiwan to receive vouchers, that would include all foreign laborers, such as Thai and other migrant workers. In their mind, somehow, this seems to be an acceptable explanation.
I do not understand how their explanation can be so blatantly discriminatory. If the true purpose is the stimulate the economy, then ALL legal residents should receive such vouchers, even if they are foreigners, because the vouchers can only be spent in Taiwan (and even if they end up overseas, they must eventually flow back into the Taiwan economy before the spending deadline, otherwise they are valueless). If a Thai migrant worker ends up spending the voucher on snacks at the 7-11, that is still stimulating the economy. As for us expatriate legally residing in Taiwan, we pay taxes to the Taiwan government each year (as do the Thai and other migrant workers, I’m sure!) and on average, each expatriate probably pays more in taxes each year than the average Taiwan citizen, as expatriates tend to be in higher tax brackets. This policy is a big slap in the face of expatriates who pay taxes to the Taiwan government.
Even babies born in Taiwan before a certain date in March 2009 are eligible to receive the vouchers. Also, Taiwanese citizens who have moved abroad are told that they may come back to Taiwan and re-establish their household registration to receive the vouchers. This makes it is absolutely puzzling why any foreigner legally residing in Taiwan, whether a Thai migrant worker or an English teacher or a professional, is not eligible to receive the vouchers.
This is another instance of outright discrimination by the Taiwan government officials to whom “foreigner” simply means “Thai migrant worker”, and since the local mindset is so xenophobic, they give no further thought to the others affected by their decision. It is simple and easy (and frankly, lazy) for them to lump all “foreigners” together and then exclude them as a group. They lose no political capital for it because the local population could care less.
Furthermore, under the WTO rules, there is a basic concept is national treatment. That means that everyone is supposed to be treated the same regardless of passport. Foreigners here buy, sell, consume, pay taxes, and are held to the same laws but not the same benefits. It is blatant discrimination and violates the WTO rules.
NT$3600 is not a lot of money, and I certainly don’t need it, but the point is the Taiwan government yet again doesn’t care about the foreign community and is ignoring the fact that expatriates pay taxes in this country, too. I have lived in Taiwan for 10 years and am sad to see this type of mentality persist in the governmental bureaucracy, especially since Taiwan purports to sell itself to the world as being international-minded. I saw Mayor Hau Lung-Pin speak in English last year at an international gathering where he was trying to sell Taipei to be an international hub for multinational companies to locate their Asian headquarters. Why would any expatriate executive want to live in a country that discriminates against foreigners?
The Taiwan government thinks it is OK to discriminate against Thai laborers as a justification. This is offensive and shows that this government is not for ethnic harmony, rule of law and fairness. Shame on you, Ma Ying-Jeou! When you need help, you ask the foreign community to lobby for you, build your infrastructure, you tax them and then you discriminate against them. This is clearly a double standard.
