Taiwan is witnessing a rise in immigration from Hong Kong where China has intensified its crackdown under controversial national security law, a media report said.
The latest statistics from the Taiwan Immigration Department indicate that the number of Hong Kong residents emigrating to Taiwan hit a new high in 2021, Radio Free Asia (RFA) quoted Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Commission (MAC) spokesman Chiu Chui-cheng as saying on Friday.
Taiwan's Interior Ministry handed out 9,772 residence cards to Hong Kong residents between January and November 2021, compared with 9,501 in the same period in 2020, the publication added.
In 2021, Taiwan awarded a permanent residency to 1,572 Hongkongers, compared with 1,397 in the same period the previous year.
Chiu has said that some new draft amendments to the rules have been prepared in line with talent recruitment regulations to extend the period of residency, especially for the students to let them stay after completing their masters and doctorate degrees.
Chiu also expressed hope for the implementation of the new draft rules soon.
Emphasizing that if Taiwan had not imposed stringent COVID-19 restrictions on entry and exits and stressing that if these were not in place, Immigration consultant Chang Hsiang-ling said that more Hongkongers might have applied.
( With inputs from ANI )
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