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.
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