HIV-positive foreign nationals will no longer be subject to forced deportation. That’s because of a revision to a statute governing their rights.
The revision, passed Tuesday, also makes Taiwan the world’s 140th country to allow HIV-positive people to stay.
Under the revision, HIV-positive foreign nationals will be eligible to receive medical treatment in Taiwan though they are responsible for medical costs.
KMT lawmaker Yang Yu-hsin spoke about the revision. "Restricting a person’s right to enter or exit the country is a violation of human rights," said Yang.
Under current laws, foreign nationals are required to conduct HIV screening tests if they stay in Taiwan more than three months. They will face forced deportation if the test results are positive.