Native Juveniles and Children” the fact that it is impossible for parents who
are unaccounted-for migrant workers to apply for resident status on behalf of
their children, and that the social welfare authority can only help migrant
workers’ children complete naturalization after these children attain the age of
20 years old and no Taiwanese national has adopted them. As a result, such
juveniles and children become stateless, or of unidentifiable nationality, and
have to deal with multiple difficulties when applying for household
registration, naturalization, resident visas, or admission for adoption. Local
governments’ social welfare authorities have trouble looking after them and
finding solutions. The Immigration Agency argues that it is just a lawenforcement authority, and the social welfare authorities should be responsible
for the migrant workers. Therefore, it disregards the problem of migrant
workers’ children, and of their status. This is against the Convention on the
Rights of the Child and the Protection of Children and Youth Welfare and
Rights Act, which provide that the children’s best interests should be taken as
the first priority. The Agency is obviously out of touch with reality.
Article 25 Political Enfranchisement
Help New Immigrants Engage in Public Affairs
151. Many new immigrants have limited knowledge of Taiwan’s democratic
practices. Due to problems such as language barriers and gaps in adaption to
life in Taiwan, it is not easy for them to express and reflect their own opinions
and actual needs. The government should organize civic education for them
and establish relevant incentive mechanisms to train new immigrants to form
their own organizations and serve as staff members of civic organizations, so
that the new immigrants may have a chance to speak for themselves and
engage in public affairs.
Article 26 Equality of Laws and Anti-Discrimination
Legal Dilemmas of Intersex Persons
152. An intersex person is defined as one who is born with physical or physiological
sex characteristics (including genitals, gonads, or chromosomes) that do not
conform to the typical definitions of the male or female genders. A relevant
study estimates that 0.05%–1.7% of the human population might be born with
intersex characteristics. Based on the higher estimate, there might be as many
as 400,000 intersex persons in Taiwan. However, the government does not
collect any relevant data about the intersex population, nor does it engage in
studies about it voluntarily. The government completely ignores the physical
existence of the intersex population, let alone formulate any policies to address
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