The United Overseas Chinese National Association is scheduled to hold its first convention on October 21. Its purpose is to map out an overall plan to strengthen the overseas Chinese anti-Communist movement. Delegates from the P.I., Australia, South Korea, Vietnam, Hongkong, Macao, Thailand and Paris will attend this convention, which will be held in Taipei. An exhibition of the products from the overseas factories on this island will also be held.
Informal Talks on Overseas Nationality Issue
More than 70 experts of this country held informal talks in the morning of September 21 discussing the nationality issue of the overseas Chinese of Southeast Asia. The conclusion of their informal talks is as follows:
1) The Government respects the right of the overseas Chinese to choose their own nationality.
2) The overseas Chinese must have the right to establish Chinese schools to educate their children.
2,000 Overseas Chinese for Double Tenth Celebration
The Commission of Overseas Affairs has formed a special committee for the sole purpose of looking after the visiting overseas Chinese due to arrive here to take part in the Double Tenth celebration. Chinese nationals from more than 40 foreign countries and localities such as the United States, Japan, Korea, P.I., Singapore, Malaya, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Indonesia, North Borneo, Hongkong, Macao, etc. have applied for entry into Taiwan to participate in the celebration of October 10th.
Celebration of the Fifth Overseas Day
Informal talks were held in the morning of September 21 at the office of the Commission of Overseas Affairs on the program for the celebration of the Overseas Day to be held on October 21.
Status of Overseas Chinese Investors
Supplementary measures governing the status of overseas Chinese investors are as follows:
1) Those who wish to apply for permit to make investments for the second time are still required to produce the necessary certificate and power of attorney to support their applications.
2) The Chinese embassy or consulate must make a thorough investigation of the credit, financial standing etc. of the applicant before granting the necessary certificate.
3) In a country which maintains no diplomatic relations with China, the overseas Chinese organizations may be charged to undertake the work of investigation before granting the necessary certificate to the applicant.
Mid-west Chinese Students' Social Gathering
Between August 30 and September 2 all the Chinese students of Middle West met at the University of Illinois for an annual social gathering. In addition to the main address delivered by Dr. K. S. Lin, they had Chinese opera, drama, dancing, ball game, group singing, etc. on the program. The special feature of this year's meeting was the exhibition of handicraft and paintings by noted artists.
Statistics on Overseas Chinese Population
1949 ........................................ 10,779,018
1950 ........................................ 11,093,979
1951 ........................................ 12,126,874
1952 ........................................ 12,536,206
1953 ........................................ 13,330,192
1954 ........................................ 13,472,311
1955 ........................................ 14,126,723
1956 ........................................ 14,207,749
Number of Overseas Chinese Who Returned to China
1950 ....................................................... 74
1951 ..................................................... 237
1952 ...................................................1,057
1953 .................................................. 1,112
1954 .................................................. 1,812
1955 .................................................. 1,614
1956 .................................................. 3,240
1957(from Jan. to Aug.) ....................... 2,214
It is estimated that the number of overseas Chinese to visit China this year will exceed the 4,000 mark. The ever increasing number of overseas Chinese, visiting China or returning to make investment or for education reflects the good relationship between the Chinese at home and the many millions overseas.
Chinese Schools in P. I.
Statistics released by the immigration authorities in the Philippines indicate that the number of overseas Chinese residents in that country is approximately between 140,000 and 150,000, of whom 48,000 are students. Overseas Chinese schools are found in every one of the 50 provinces in the Philippines.
The overseas Chinese schools in the Philippines have been divided into two sessions—English and Chinese. Sil1ce all the elementary and secondary schools in the Philippines have been operated under a half-day system, the overseas Chinese schools have followed the same practice. The forenoon is devoted to Chinese education under the supervision of the Chinese Embassy. The afternoon is devoted to English education under the supervision of the local educational authorities. The enforcement of supervisory measures since 1955 has complicated matters for the Chinese schools.
The rising tide of nationalism, the nationalization bills of one kind or another and restrictive measures governing educational activities have created problems for the overseas Chinese ever since the P. I. won her independence. For a period of eight months, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and that of Education of the Philippine Government on the one hand and the Chinese Embassy on the other had conducted negotiations on the supervision of the Chinese session of the Chinese schools until an agreement was reached on January 23, 1956.
The overseas Chinese schools in the Philippines have a history of no less than 60 years. It dated as far back as 1899. The agreement reached marks the end of one period and the beginning of another.
Since all the Chinese schools are placed in the same situation in the face of the enforcement of supervisory measures by the educational authorities of the Philippine Government, it is only natural that they should have an organization to tackle all the problems that confront the schools. The 150 Chinese schools in the Philippines have now organized the Chinese Schools Association with a view to promoting overseas education.
Cabinet Members in Malaya
Of the 12 Cabinet members of the Government of the Federation of Malaya, which proclaimed its independence on August 31, three are Chinese with Lee Hsiao Shi heading the Ministry of Finance, Chen Sieu Sheng that of Commerce and Trade, and Ong Soo-lin that of Labor and Social Welfare.
With the exception of the local-born Chinese, there are 1,820,000 overseas Chinese, only five per cent of whom have accepted Malayan citizenship.
U.S. Immigration Act
The recent Congressional debate on the Refugee Act has promoted the Chinese Benevolent Association in the United States to propose to all the leading Chinese in America to appeal to the authorities along the following lines:
1. The 1953 Refugee Act governing non-Asians in Asia should be made applicable to the Chinese refugees.
2. All those Chinese who entered the U.S. before 1954 should not be subject to further questioning.
American Passports
It is required by the State Department that in applying for passports, the Americans of Chinese descent must give particulars of the following seven items listed in the application forms:
1. Name in Chinese and English.
2. If there are other names, they should be given in English and Chinese.
3. Birthday based on both Western and lunar calendars should be stated.
4. Birthplace in English as well as in Chinese.
5. Date of the first entry into the U. S. Name of ship. Port of disembarkation.
6. If any, names of brothers or sisters and their present address must be given.
7. If the applicant desires to live with his relatives in Hongkong, it is necessary to give their address.
Alien Technical Experts
The new Labor Minister of the Philippine Government declared at a press conference on August 23 that he would urge the immigration authorities to restrict the entry into the Philippines of aliens, many of whom had been discovered to be engaged in ordinary employment. This would affect the employment problem of the natives, the minister Raid.
Vietnam
Responsible officials of the Vietnam Government warned the Chinese rice merchants that unless they took steps to apply for Vietnamese citizenship, they would have to wind up their business not later than September 6. This is one of the trades that are listed as exclusively for Vietnamese citizens.
Release of Chinese
On September 6, President Carlos Garcia of the Philippines ordered the immigration authorities to release ten Chinese arrested in December 1952, thus closing an issue between the Republic of the Philippines and the Republic of China in the last five years.
Cambodia
At the 136th meeting on August 20, the Cambodian Parliament passed a resolution to amend the existing laws governing alien trading and property rights and the rights of transferring ownership of property. The amendment reads as follows:
(1) Any article or real property that bears the label of being international in character may have the ownership transferred from one to another regardless of the nationality of the original owner.
(2) The ownership of other real property throughout Cambodia is legal only when the owner is of Cambodian nationality.
(3) A Cambodian national has the right to transfer his property to another Cambodian national.
(4) Other private individual or company-owned property can be leased to others regardless of the nationality of the owner or owners.