A Tibetan in Exile Fights for His Right To Live With Family in Taiwan
A Tibetan in exile and his Taiwanese wife go through a nearly decade-long struggle to secure a happy life together in Taiwan.
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00:00 [Music]
00:04 Playing a song from the place he once called home,
00:07 Turing is a Tibetan exile living in eastern Taiwan.
00:10 After a long struggle,
00:12 he and his family have built a life for themselves in Hualien,
00:15 far from his birthplace in China.
00:18 At 19, Turing left Tibet to meet its former leader,
00:20 the Dalai Lama in India.
00:22 His trek across the Himalayas marked his first steps into exile.
00:27 I was working for the IC,
00:30 which is a government-funded organization
00:33 that provides passports to both the Indian government and the exile government.
00:38 I was nervous that day because Indian police would be on guard.
00:44 While living as a stateless person in India,
00:46 Turing fell in love with a Taiwanese citizen,
00:49 Tsai Yung-ching,
00:50 with whom he married in 2009.
00:52 We are all legal citizens, and we have children.
00:58 I don't think I can be free.
01:00 As a stateless person,
01:02 Turing was barred from working and having permanent residency in Taiwan.
01:06 For years, he had to leave the country every six months
01:09 and apply for a visa in India.
01:11 The process took upwards of a month
01:13 and cost his family almost 4,000 US dollars each time.
01:17 I feel free in Taiwan,
01:19 but I can't work and see my children every day.
01:24 I don't have a residence permit.
01:27 I feel like my future is shrouded in fog.
01:36 I can't see anything.
01:37 Though the marriage was recognized by both Taiwan and India,
01:44 Turing's status meant he could not live in Taiwan permanently.
01:47 When moving to Taiwan,
01:49 he and his family had to do the interview while overseas,
01:52 and they felt humiliated.
01:53 They asked me a question that I couldn't ask.
01:56 "When was the first time you had sex?"
01:59 I couldn't ask that question, but they did.
02:01 I think they were discriminating against me.
02:03 In their quest for a normal life,
02:05 Turing and his wife sought help from the Taiwan-based
02:08 Union of Excluded Immigrants and Unwanted Citizens.
02:11 If in 2010,
02:15 the real problem was economic and financial.
02:19 Another problem was economic and financial.
02:21 You don't know when you can live a normal life.
02:27 Turing and his family fought for their right
02:29 to be together for nine years.
02:31 Their case has highlighted the issue
02:33 facing transnational marriages in Taiwan.
02:35 Freedom means
02:40 not having any fear in your heart.
02:42 You can say whatever you want.
02:45 You can do whatever you want.
02:48 You can live wherever you want.
02:50 You don't have to ask anyone.
02:52 Turing finally obtained his citizenship in Taiwan in 2018.
02:56 He now spends his time singing songs with his family
02:59 and living free in his new home.
03:01 Joseph Wu and Tani Chi for Taiwan Plus.
03:04 [BLANK_AUDIO]