TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Foreign residents and their Taiwanese spouses testified on Thursday to the importance of new legislation that enables permanent residents to receive disability benefits.
On Aug. 29, the Legislative Yuan passed amendments to Articles 28 and 29 of the Act for the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals. These enable permanent residents who have lived in Taiwan for 10 or more years to be eligible for disability certification.
David Chang (張代偉), the founder and secretary-general of Crossroads, talked about the case of Oliver, a French national who lived in Tainan for 18 years but suffered from ALS. Chang said he was denied nearly every form of assistance.
His Taiwanese daughter and wife had to care for him on their own. Chang questioned how a nation known globally as a champion of human rights could fail to provide care for long-term foreign residents.
Chang pointed out that Taiwan has 970,000 immigrants and 40,000 permanent residents. He said that in 2023, Crossroads started a disability-inclusion movement for foreign nationals in Taiwan.
Thanks to their efforts, Oliver received his disability certification in 2024 and gained some comfort before his passing. Marking the August passage of legislation, Chang said, “Today, we honor not just a legal victory, but a moral one.”
DPP Legislator Wang Ting-yu (王定宇) said that for long-term foreign residents in need, such as Oliver, “We should look after them like family.” He said he began coordinating with Crossroads in 2023 after learning that foreigners with disabilities had no benefits in Taiwan.
Now that the legislative process has been completed, Wang said, “We finally closed this gap between those who chose to be Taiwanese and those who were born Taiwanese.” He explained that those who have paid tax for 10 years and have stayed in the country for at least 183 days per year can apply for these services.
Wang recognized that, as foreign citizens, “You have no votes, no voice, no way to bring yourself into this lawmaking process.” He expressed satisfaction at bringing the legislative process to completion.
Carrie Kellenberger, a Canadian citizen and former president of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, has lived in Taiwan for 20 years. She said via video that she was diagnosed with axial spondyloarthritis in 2009.
She said that when her condition worsened and she tried to apply for a handicap parking pass, she was rejected because, as a foreigner, she was not eligible. Her husband, who helps push her in her wheelchair, had encountered many parking difficulties when taking her to appointments.
Kellenberger investigated whether other foreign residents with disabilities faced similar challenges and found that “the number of sick and disabled was astonishing and is a massive human rights issue.” However, she said that in working with Crossroads, within the past two years they have been able to make changes for the better.
She described the passage of the legislation as “a massive moment in Taiwan’s history.” When she qualified for a disability certificate, she was able to use a handicap parking pass at the hospital, saving her husband a lot of time and effort.
Kellenberger is now eligible for a companion pass, which ensures that someone can be with her when she leaves her home. She also has access to disability transportation, saving on the previously costly journey to deliver her wheelchair from her house to the hospital.
She said that since receiving her disability certification, her bills have come down, and her car tax has been reduced. She also unexpectedly became eligible for certain subsidies.
She can replace her manual wheelchair and has a subsidy to get a new one. “I give my eternal gratitude to Wang and those who helped to change my life,” said Kellenberger.
Katy Ho Boyden, widow of UK citizen Michael Boyden, said that her husband passionately supported Taiwan. He came to Taiwan in 1989, but in 2019 was diagnosed with atypical parkinsonism.
She said that his condition progressed rapidly, making it hard for her to care for him while working full-time. She realized she needed help, but did not know where to look.
Katy had trouble paying the rising costs. When she called the long-term care service hotline 1966, she was told that it could not serve foreigners.
She said this was the first time she felt overwhelmed. She could not understand why he could not be helped as a permanent resident.
Katy did not know where to start and needed professional help. Later, she was eventually able to receive assistance from the local community.
With the legislative process underway, she said that her husband was able to receive a disability certificate in 2024. She closed by stressing that “The new law helps not just the patients but their family.”
South African entrepreneur Andrew Klerck said that in 2011, he went blind from retinitis pigmentosa. He was told he had to leave Taiwan, having lived in Taiwan for six years as a contractor, because he could not extend his business visa.
His Taiwanese partner then moved with him to South Africa for eight years. However, Klerck said that when Taiwan took the step of allowing same-sex marriage and showed that Taiwan was ready to make a change, he made the conscious decision to remain in Taiwan.
Klerck said he has since received US$16 million in foreign investment in his new company. He plans to hire 60 employees by 2027.
When he was 32 years old, he was told he had six months of eyesight left. He said it was a very daunting thing to go through, “especially when you live in a country where you have no rights.”
He said that twice in Taipei, landlords refused to rent spaces for commercial use. They superstitiously claimed they feared that, as a blind person, he would bring bad luck to tenants.
An organization for the blind said they couldn’t help him since he was a foreigner. However, they asked him to teach, and he did because he wants to help others in need.
Klerck and his partner take care of his partner’s 100-year-old grandmother. “It is our duty as human beings to help others in need,” said Klerck.
Community Services Center Chair Chang Ju-tien (張汝恬) said that her late husband had brain cancer in 2010. She said he was well cared for by the Taiwanese for 419 days.
Chang pointed out that the CSC has been offering services for 40 years. They offer counseling services for foreigners adapting to Taiwan and dealing with issues such as disability services.
She said the center helps give them information to connect and navigate in Taiwan. She said the new legislation is incredibly important as foreign residents contribute to the wealth and prosperity of the country.
She pledged that the center will “do its best to spread this achievement to ‘foreigners’ who are really our family members,” adding, “We will do our best to communicate and share this news with those who qualify.”
Chang said that the center also offers classes on Mandarin, cooking, and well-being. It offers counseling and organizes many activities such as hiking and river tracing.
