Human Rights and National Interests— Analysis of Immigration Law Enactment and the Amendment Process

In the mid 1980s, due to the abolishment of the Martial Law which facilitated social, economic and political changes both externally and internally, the boarder management system in Republic of China (R.O.C., Taiwan) was then on the brink of transformation. However, it is an interesting question that whether the purpose of establishing immigration laws, regulating interactions among people, is for the development of individual rights or for concerns of group interests, and is there a balance between these two objectives? In this thesis, the focus would be on how Taiwan government enacted immigration policies regarding foreign nationals as well as people from mainland China especially it was the first contact after decades of standoff across the Taiwan Strait at that time. Thus, is there any policy differentiation between foreign nationals and people from P.R.C.? If the differentiation does exist, what are the reasons for it?

This thesis discusses the immigration laws in terms of perspectives from human rights and national interests. After reviewing the process of immigration law enactment and its amendment, the author has discovered that how many human rights granted from the government varied with the interpretation of “legal citizens”. Furthermore, except preserving human rights, Taiwan government also took national security and interests into consideration when enacting immigration laws and policies. Nevertheless, policy makers in Taiwan prioritize national interests over the respect for human rights, resulting in unequal treatment between immigrants from mainland China and immigrants from other countries. On the other hand, ethnic diversity within a country caused by cross-border movement of people has contributed to the rising awareness of immigration rights. Therefore, this thesis concludes that the balance between the human rights protection and national interests preservation should be the foremost consideration for policy makers.