The Migrants Empowerment Network in Taiwan (MENT) is set to hold a rally in Taipei on Sunday supporting an amendment to the Employment Service Act.
Under the act, foreign laborers are required to leave Taiwan once every three years. The system was originally meant to interrupt foreign laborers’ residency periods so that they could not apply for citizenship. However, MENT says that current laws do not allow foreign laborers to naturalize as Taiwanese citizens no matter how long they have lived in Taiwan.
MENT says the requirement that laborers leave the country once every three years leaves them open to exploitation by recruiting agencies, which charge large fees. The group also says that by scrapping the requirement, Taiwan will reduce the exploitation of foreign laborers and move towards respect for human rights.
A draft amendment that would scrap the requirement passed an initial review in a legislative committee session held in June. MENT says it hopes Sunday’s rally will speed up the review process.