Mrs. “J”, a permanent resident of Taiwan, filed a complaint with the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), arguing that despite her and her husband’s long-term residency and tax contributions in Taiwan, their daughter—born and educated in Taiwan—was ineligible for government tuition subsidies for secondary education due to her lack of R.O.C. citizenship. Mrs. “J” claimed this distinction constituted as discrimination against her daughter. Following an investigation, the NHRC found that distinguishing between students with R.O.C. citizenship and the children of permanent residents in terms of eligibility for tuition subsidies in secondary education violated three international covenants, including the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. The report recommended that the government provide tuition subsidies for secondary education to the children of permanent residents, on par with those granted to R.O.C. citizens. The full investigative report was made public and sent to the relevant authorities for review, with a call for adjustments to domestic education laws to align with international human rights standards.
The investigative report on the "Discriminatory Tuition Subsidy Policy for Permanent Residents and Their Children in Senior High School and Above" was approved by the NHRC in its 55th meeting on July 23rd, 2024. The report emphasized that all residents in Taiwan, regardless of citizenship status, are entitled to non-discriminatory treatment under the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights, and the Convention on the Rights of the Child. These covenants affirm the right to education for all individuals and stress that the exercise of this right should be based on equal access to opportunities, which includes children with international migration backgrounds, and especially those with permanent residency status and their children. The report also highlighted that current regulations, which exclude permanent residents and their children from secondary education tuition subsidies based on nationality, lack a reasonable and necessary justification, thereby constituting discriminatory treatment.
Furthermore, in light of Taiwan’s declining birthrate and aging population, the government has been implementing measures to encourage childbirth, attract foreign professionals, and relax residency requirements to retain and attract talent and increase the country’s demographic dividend. Inevitably, this raises systemic issues related to the protection of the basic rights of foreigners, requiring differentiated standards of treatment based on the closeness of their ties to Taiwan.
The NHRC recommends that the responsible authorities consider granting the children of permanent residents the same tuition subsidies for secondary education as R.O.C. nationals. It also suggests that, within the limits of national financial resources and the reasonable allocation of educational resources, Taiwan should gradually work toward covenant-mandated economic accessibility, with the ultimate goal of making secondary education free. Additionally, the NHRC urges strengthened education and training on international human rights covenants and calls for investigations into the educational status and needs of non-citizen residents and their children.