as a justifiable form of differential treatment. ii. The Ministry of Finance (MOF) The MOF explained that the criteria for determining the recipients of general cash distributions were based on the guidelines used to distribute the Triple Stimulus Vouchers and Quintuple Stimulus Vouchers. The total amount distributed was within the surplus budget of 2022, and the purpose was to share economic gains with the entire population to stimulate post-pandemic economic development without negatively impacting the country's finances. Data from the NIA at the start of 2023 indicated that around 160,000 non-citizens qualified for the distribution, with approximately 140,000 receiving it, representing 0.6% of the overall recipients. Furthermore, the MOF’’s data on individual income tax contributions from 2018 to 2022 revealed that the proportion of total tax payments made by non-citizens, including residents from Hong Kong and Macao, fluctuated between approximately 2.93% and 2.18%. In 2022, the cumulative tax contributions from these groups surpassed NT$10.4 billion, within a broader context of total tax revenue amounting to NT$478.9 billion. iii. The Ministry of Labor (MOL) The MOL released data concerning the number of foreign professionals holding permanent residency, the retention rates of mid-level skilled labor as part of the migrant worker retention initiative, and the educational requirements of their children residing in Taiwan. As of the end of April 2024, there were 48,766 authorized work permits for white-collar foreign employees in Taiwan, as stipulated in Article 46, Paragraph 1, Subparagraphs 1 to 6, and Article 51, Paragraph 3 of the Employment Service Act. It is important to note that this figure does not include foreign educators as the Ministry of Education manages their permits. The MOL has approved 27,939 migrant workers to advance to mid-level technical roles by the end of April 2024 as part of the migrant worker retention initiative, which has been operational since April 30, 2022. 10