00:00He was onset by a sudden case of ALS, and very, very severe, basically rendering him
00:10from a completely autonomous individual in Taiwan, and over the course of a year, completely
00:16immobile.
00:17David Zhang is talking about Oliver, a French national who's lived in Taiwan for decades.
00:23But without Taiwanese household registration, he can't access services or benefits that
00:27he needs.
00:28Instead, Oliver's ex-girlfriend's family takes care of him.
00:32He was unable to afford a lot of financial expenses that were piling up due to his treatments,
00:39and his inability to access even something as simple as a wheelchair, because he could
00:43not prove he was disabled without the official recognition.
00:47Taiwan's legislature recently passed several amendments to make it easier for foreign residents
00:52to stay here.
00:53One of these reforms allows permanent residents to apply for disability certification if needed.
00:59Unfortunately, even people who are able to acquire disability certification are finding themselves
01:04without Taiwanese, without household registration and inability to be able to access a lot of
01:10very main services and assistance that are actually open and available for people with
01:16disability in Taiwan.
01:18So it's still a gap.
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