(Im)Permanence

Last month I finally got my APRC.

This fact might be surprising to those who've known me for a while, considering that I first moved to Taiwan in 1999, and that aside from three years spent in the States I've lived here continuously since that year.

Long story short, it was easier just to renew my marriage visa every 1-3 years.  Around the end of June or July every school year we were always in a hurry to get to the States, and it was just easier to fill out a form and renew the marriage visa as opposed to going "all in" and getting the APRC.

This "APRC," I should add, is the Alien Permanent Resident Certificate.  Foreign residents can apply for one if they've lived here long enough, and have all the required paperwork.  In my case it was the paperwork that always tripped me up, given that you have to submit a lot of photocopies to the Bureau of Immigration.  I could have gotten that paperwork in order long ago, but I was both lazy and in a hurry to be gone.

What blew my mind about this process was looking down at my new card and not finding an expiration date.  I've been operating within a one- to three-year "immigration window" for so many years, and now, suddenly, I have a card without an expiration date.  It's a very odd feeling, knowing that I only need to return to the immigration office if I want to update my picture or if I renew my U.S. passport.  Otherwise I'm free as a bird, able to ignore that office at will.

After picking up my newly minted APRC I thanked the office staff profusely, half afraid they'd change their minds and take it back.  Afterward I stepped outside and stood in the parking lot for a while, wondering why everything around me looked different.  I suppose I was feeling a sudden sense of ownership over, or perhaps a sense of belonging to, this place.  Everything around me looked exactly the same, but different.

Some of those reading this entry might be able to relate.  I'm not, after all, the first expat I know to get an APRC.  I am in fact one of the last.  Most of my longer-term expat friends got their APRCs years ago, and they were often puzzled why I waited so long to get mine.  I guess I like to take things at my own pace.  Besides, forms and government offices make me nervous.

Alien Permanent Resident.  It has a ring to it, you know?  Feels almost like a new lease on life, or an old mode of existence somehow made new.  True, I'm still not a citizen, And true, I still can't vote, but I do feel more a part of Taiwan, even though I'm not a Taiwanese passport holder.

Why no passport, you ask?  Why no citizenship?  To many fellow expats the answer to these two questions will be obvious, but to many of my Taiwanese friends and coworkers it's not so clear.  I'm often asked by Taiwanese people if I can vote, primarily because they conflate having an APRC (or even an ARC) with having a passport and being a citizen.  I do my best to explain the situation, though the nuances are hard to pin down.

By way of brief explanation, in order to gain a Taiwanese passport I'd have to give up my American passport, and doing so is not a matter to be taken lightly.  Giving up your American passport entails a period of statelessness while your Taiwanese passport is approved, and this period of statelessness can involve serious inconveniences if the approval process takes a long time.

There's also the matter of visiting my home country as a foreign national, which is something I'm unwilling to do at this point.  Even with Trump as President I still like being an American, and I hope that I can be proud of being so again.  Will I ever move back there?  Probably not, but I'd rather remain an American just the same.  I might be the father of two Taiwanese citizens, and I might be the husband of another, but I'd prefer to retain my American citizenship regardless.  It's just part of who I am.

There's also Taiwan's own status to consider.  Barring the willingness to "man the barricades" and potentially go down with the ship, I don't think I have any call to claim citizenship in this country, especially when Taiwan often questions its own status with regard to China.  Taiwan's uncertainty in relation to its own identity isn't likely to be dispelled anytime soon, and in the absence of a national consensus (thanks, KMT), forsaking one's own citizenship for the sake of becoming fully Taiwanese seems a risky proposition.  I can't say I haven't considered it, but at the present time I don't think it's for me.

Dual citizenship?  Sure, but that's not an option right now.

All of which leaves me, the permanently resident foreigner, happy to finally have an APRC, and happy to still be living in Taiwan.  I don't know how you feel about this island, but it's given me a great deal, and I can only hope that I'll have more chances to give back to it in the future.

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Those Others on the Other Side of the Other Strait

Not long ago a guy I know said goodbye to Taiwan.  Will he ever move back?  I don't know.  He and I got along well enough, but I didn't see him that often and we never got to know each other that well.

Where did he move to?  He moved to the Philippines with his Filipino girlfriend.  I heard they own a plot of land down there, and (according to a couple other people at least) his plan is to become a pilot in the Philippines after obtaining his pilot's license.

Either that or they're going to open an art gallery.  Or both.  I'm really not sure.

Receiving the news of his departure reminded me of another local expat I used to know, a more contentious character that I sometimes ran into at the Flowing Lake.  He was always nice to me, I'm compelled to say, but I've heard that he could be very confrontational with other people.

His story is a lot darker.  He also moved down to the Philippines, but not long after moving there he was murdered.  I'd share the details of his case, but I'm still vague as to what actually happened.  All I can say is that I always feel a little sad when I think about him.  We had some interesting conversations by the lake, and I was always thankful for the cooler of beers he brought along.

People don't immediately think of the numerous connections between the Philippines and Taiwan, but yes, there are many.  Many Filipino people live and work here, and many commercial ventures tie the two island nations together.  It isn't always a comfortable relationship, and both racism and nationalism can play into one group's attitude toward the other, but there's a steady flow of people across the Luzon Strait, and the two places do have things in common.*

According to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) in the Philippines website, the Philippines "has been prioritized by the Republic of China (Taiwan) as the gateway to the ASEAN countries in the new 'Southbound Policy.'"  "In 2023," this website goes on to state, "Taiwan and the Philippines two-way trade amounted to $7.41 billion," with "more than 350,000 Filipino tourists visiting Taiwan between January and October 2024."  This website further states that there are 150,000 Filipino workers in Taiwan "who are fairly treated and well protected by the law."  The National Immigration Agency and the Ministry of the Interior don't offer detailed information on immigration and emigration with respect to countries of origin, but I assume that the TECO statement's numbers are coming from them.

There is, by the way, a MECO (Manila Economic and Cultural Office) which serves as a counterpart to TECO.  This MECO operates offices in Taipei, Taichung and Kaohsiung, and it pursues what it calls a "limited engagement strategy" with Taiwan while affirming the One China Policy.  There's an essay on this topic in the Global Taiwan Brief.  It's an an interesting read.

As I type this entry, other recent examples of the ways in which these two nations interact come to mind.  I recently visited downtown Tainan and was surprised to find a two-story Filipino grocery store not far from the Tainan Train Station.  Not only was this place full of shoppers on a Sunday, but on the shelves I found a host of goods I'd never seen before, all in quantities which indicated that this grocery store is doing a brisk business.

You can also see signs of a growing Filipino population in Nandze District, Kaohsiung City.  There are several large Filipino restaurants near the Kaohsiung Municipal Park, and the Nandze District Office posts community bulletins in Tagalog alongside other languages.  If you don't believe me, just sit for a while in front of the Donutes on Dexian Road.  Sooner or later a group of Filipinos will walk by, headed either to their homes or to one of the many factories in that area.

There are also, by the way, many Filipino teachers in Taiwanese public schools.  Setting aside for a moment the question of whether the Philippines is truly an "English-speaking country," I can say with certainty that many (not all) of these Filipino teachers are equal to the task of teaching English in Taiwan.  Sure, some local English teachers gripe about Filipino teachers who are obviously NOT native English speakers, but more stringent standards defining "native English speakers" are the responsibility of the Taiwanese people or organizations recruiting these teachers, not of the Filipino teachers themselves.

At any rate Filipinos are, I've found, nice people, and I like talking to them.  Like me they're just trying to get ahead in life.  Like me they're also, with some exceptions, trying to do their jobs the best they're able.  If some locals think they aren't good enough, that sentiment should be addressed on a case-by-case basis, and those assigning blame should be careful to avoid stereotypes and misconceptions.

...but maybe that's a debate for another day.  My goal here is only a discussion of the ways in which two nations, Taiwan and the Philippines, are growing closer together.  No, it's not all rainbows and sunshine between the two parties, and yes, there's more exploitation on one side than there is on the other, but I don't want to paint too gloomy a picture of how Taiwan interacts with its southern neighbor.

Whatever happens in the future, I doubt that Taiwan and the Philippines will move further apart.  Sure, the Philippines' government can be kind of... embarrassing, and sure, some Taiwanese people have some very racial attitudes toward the people of the Philippines and other nearby Southeast Asian countries, but given the kind of pressure Mainland China is exerting on both places, I can't see Taiwan and the Philippines maintaining the kind of political distance that used to be the norm.  Politicians in Taiwan might not like to admit it, but Taiwan needs the Philippines, just as it relies on the spoken or unspoken support of other neighbors.  Certain Taiwanese people might think they're above such things, but there are geopolitical realities at play, alliances to be observed, and relationships to protect.

Would I ever live or work in the Philippines?  I highly doubt it, primarily because there's not much money in that for me, and I'm too well dug into Taiwan at this point in my life.  But I would like to visit the Philippines someday, perhaps in the company of someone who could help me understand it better.

Here's hoping that Taiwan's people, and by extension its government, can continue to find ways of including Filipino residents in its public events, social activities and other matters of importance.  The people of the Philippines have already contributed a lot to this island, and people in Taiwan ignore these contributions at their peril.  Taiwan's future is, after all, an international future, and maintaining good relations with regional neighbors is one step toward this multinational tomorrow.

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*Luzon Strait or Bashi Channel?  The Bashi Channel is part of the Luzon Strait.  The Luzon Strait connects the Philippines Sea and the East China Sea, while the Bashi Channel separates Orchid Island and Mavulis Island in the Philippines.