The Taiwan Association for Human Rights says Taiwan's National Immigration Agency and Ministry of Foreign Affairs have launched an investigation into security in Myanmar after the ruling junta ended its four-year state of emergency. Advocates say this could put Burmese nationals in Taiwan at risk of deportation if they were originally granted visa extensions or residency on a humanitarian basis. If Myanmar is considered safe to return to, some may be unable to obtain visa extensions in Taiwan.
00:00Human rights groups are urging Taiwan's government not to repatriate Burmese people to Myanmar,
00:06which is run by a military junta.
00:09The Taiwan Association for Human Rights, local organizations and Burmese groups endorsed a letter to the National Immigration Agency.
00:17They warned that since the junta ended the state of emergency in July,
00:21the Immigration Agency and the Foreign Ministry are now assessing whether the country is safe for overseas Burmese to return.
00:28This review could affect the status of Burmese nationals in Taiwan, especially those who have been granted extensions.
00:36Taiwan does not have asylum laws but does provide avenues for refugees on a case-by-case basis.
00:42The Immigration Agency says it offers assistance for Burmese to extend their stays in Taiwan
00:47and does not forcefully deport people thought to be at risk.
00:51To learn more about Burmese nationals' status in Taiwan,
00:57our reporter Tiffany Wong spoke with Liao Xieni,
01:00migration and asylum policy researcher at Taiwan Association for Human Rights.
01:06How have the risks increased for Burmese nationals living in Taiwan to be deported back to Myanmar right now?
01:12Because of the junta's announcement of ending the emergency status on the 31st of July,
01:22the Immigration Agency and the Ministry of Affairs are conducting investigations collectively to reassess the situation in Myanmar.
01:31If they came to the conclusion that the situation has been improved,
01:35they will give out more general orders to the frontline officers saying that the practice of extending
01:42anti-humanitary concerns should not be a general rule.
01:46And they should proceed with the repatriation of those who have been staying in Taiwan
01:53because of those previous extensions.
01:56So right now, there are about 4,000 Burmese nationals living in Taiwan,
01:59and most of them are students.
02:02What risks do students face when they go back to Myanmar?
02:06The three main dangers that face is that some came from regions that aren't complex that has been particularly high,
02:13even compared to other regions.
02:16So that we have a lot of asylum seekers from Saigon, from Rakhine State, or like Chang State, Chin State,
02:22which is like the focus of the junta's airstripes.
02:25So this is one of the main dangers.
02:29Another is that there are also people who have engaged in political activities very actively.
02:36And then because of their activities, some of them have already been issued a court order.
02:41And there are also students who have been staying under the student visa in Taiwan when the coup happened.
02:49But they have been participating in solidarity events in Taiwan.
02:55So there are also posting those information online.
03:03So the immigration agency handles these asylum cases and visa extensions on a case-by-case basis.
03:10How exactly do they assess the risk that somebody might face back in Myanmar?
03:16If they submit some sort of evidence or just like a news report of what their hometown has been put under,
03:26immigration will accept for consideration their peace and extend their visas or postpone their deportation.
03:37But now they are like assessing both the ones that have been cleaned for like humanitarian incarceration and also for like ongoing for like future cases.
03:47The immigration agency will probably will be adopting a stricter review of those.
03:55I just want to add that the immigration agency will usually give out statements saying that they have determined that there will be a stricter of arbitrary deprivation of life and subject to torture if returned.
04:07When they say that they have never deported anyone who has been identified as such,
04:13that should be taken in consideration that they have never explicitly acknowledged anyone or explicitly identified anyone as such.
04:23That was Liao Shini from the Taiwan Association for Human Rights.
