By Focus | 2025-03-06

TAIPEI -- Taiwan's government is considering tightening citizenship regulations for residents from Hong Kong and Macau as part of national security reforms aimed at preventing infiltration by China through immigration.

Under the proposal, residents from Hong Kong and Macau would need to live in Taiwan for four years instead of one before qualifying for permanent residency, according to local media reports.

Additionally, they no longer would be able to apply for citizenship after obtaining permanent residency.

Applicants with ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), military or government institutions would face stricter scrutiny and potential denial of residency.

An anonymous government official told Liberty Times on March 3 that the current relaxed immigration policies for these territories, which took effect in 2020, have created a significant national security risk.

Since the handover of Hong Kong from the United Kingdom to China in 1997, more than 2 million residents of mainland China have relocated to Hong Kong.

the previous justification for granting fast-tracked residency to Hong Kong and Macau residents is no longer valid because of changing political conditions in those territories, the official stressed.

Deliberation

Taiwan's reconsideration of its immigration policies has drawn mixed reactions.

Lam Wing-kee, founder of Hong Kong's Causeway Bay Books, urged the government to deliberate the reforms carefully.

Causeway Bay Books -- known for selling books critical of the CCP -- closed in 2015 amid the controversial disappearance of five employees including Lam, who were later found to have been detained by mainland authorities.

Lam went into self-imposed exile in Taiwan in 2019 before reopening the bookstore in 2020. He became a Taiwanese citizen last year.

In an interview with TVBS news, Lam argued that concerns over Hong Kong migrants infiltrating Taiwan on behalf of the Chinese government should have been addressed in 2019 when a migration wave began, rather than now.

While the proposed regulations would align residency requirements for Hong Kong and Macau residents with those from other countries, they would still be more lenient than the policies for mainland Chinese applicants, who must wait six years before applying for a national ID card.

Many Hong Kong and Macau migrants reportedly prioritize residency over full Taiwanese citizenship, suggesting that the changes may have minimal impact on most applicants.

The government plans to consult with Hong Kong and Macau communities in Taiwan before finalizing the amendments, according to local reports.