The Ministry of the Interior (MOI) held a voting simulation event on Tuesday (Sept. 17) to help familiarize new immigrants with Taiwan's ballot casting procedure as the country gears up for the general elections next year.
Interior Minister Hsu Kuo-yung (徐國勇) and NIA Director-General Chiu Feng-kuang (邱豐光) have assumed the role of "electoral staffers" in the lobby of the National Immigration Agency (NIA), where the ballot boxes are placed. New immigrants are invited to experience how voting is conducted until the event ends on Wednesday (Sept. 18).
Individuals participating in the event include Evans Jonathan Paul (余文生), an American researcher at Academia Sinica who was granted Taiwanese citizenship in May through naturalization. He will cast his vote as a Taiwanese national for the first time in the January presidential election.
The event was intended to promote Taiwan’s democratic values among the country’s new immigrant community, said Hsu. He urged those who call the island home to exercise their civil rights by showing up at the polling booths next year.
Taiwan has a new immigrant population of approximately 550,000, according to the MOI. Second-generation members of new immigrant families, as well as those who have acquired a Taiwanese identity card for special contributions or specialized expertise, will become eligible voters.
By Taiwan News
