Taipei, March 25 (CNA) The term "climate refugees" became a much talked about issue when it was raised in Taiwan recently following massive damage and loss of life resulting from natural disasters, as well as in President Ma Ying-jeou's ongoing trip to Taiwan's six South Pacific allies.
Discussions about the possible climate refugee phenomenon increased after Typhoon Morakot devastated parts of southern Taiwan last August.
This is partly why a locally produced global warming documentary titled "Plus or Minus Two Degrees Celsius, " inspired by the 2006 documentary "An Inconvenient Truth" produced by former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, attracted attention and sparkled public debate over its prediction of an apocalyptic future for Taiwan.
According to the film, the people of Taiwan will be among the first climate refugees -- or "environmentally induced migration" as some prefer to call it -- if the environmental situation keeps deteriorating and protection measures are not immediately put in place.
The Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) , an advocacy organization, claimed in a 2009 report that nearly 10 percent of the world's population is at risk from displacement by climate change. Around 26 million have already had to move, a figure that the EJF predicts could have grown to 150 million by 2050.
The impact of climate change became one of the key themes during Ma's South Pacific trip. He talked about helping Taiwan's allies to fight climate change and rising sea levels. For Kiribati and Tuvalu, global warming is a life-threatening disaster because it is causing rising sea levels that could eventually submerge their homelands, according to some scientists.
"We will help seek possible solutions to the global warming that is causing rising sea levels that could eventually submerge Kiribati, " Ma said during a meeting with Kiribati President Anote Tong.
He also noted that according to research, ancestors of the Austronesian people now living in the South Pacific emigrated from Taiwan some 3,000 years ago.
"We will probably return to Taiwan someday, " Tong responded.
Benjamin T.H. Ho, Taiwan's ambassador to Kiribati, said in a recent interview with CNA that the Kiribati government has devised a plan for "relocation of the whole country" in the event of a disaster and has also been lobbying for more international aid for its life-and-death battle against global warming.
According to the ambassador, Kiribati was exploring whether any country in the world would be willing to provide land or an island to accommodate its total population of about 100,000.
Ho said the plan does not seem feasible. Although Australia and New Zealand are willing to accept immigrants from Kiribati, they would not do so without any prerequisites.
Ho said that in his view, apart from offering vocational training, Taiwan could play a more active role in Kiribati's relocation plan by opening its doors to workers from there.
The ambassador said he had already discussed the proposal with the Council of Labor Affairs and that the plan is likely be implemented if the Kiribati government is willing to set up a fund to offer low-interest loans for prospective Kiribati workers to travel to Taiwan. The travel cost is about US$300 per person, which Ho said could be repaid through phased deductions from the workers' wages.
While Tuvalu also faces the threat of rising sea levels, its government has not been as active as Kiribati's in seeking national relocation. "The Tuvalu government is reluctant to talk about national relocation because it fears its people will panic, " according to James C.K. Tien, Taiwan's ambassador to Tuvalu.
Asked about the possibility of Taiwan accepting climate refugees, Ger Baushuan, deputy secretary-general of the Department of East Asian and Pacific Affairs under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) , said the ministry has not heard of anything related to the issue and has no such plans.
Ger pointed out that these South Pacific countries traditionally maintain closer relationships with Australia and New Zealand because of proximity, history and culture.
The New Zealand Foreign Ministry states on its website that its immigration policy does allow for a limited number of people from Pacific countries including Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, Kiribati and Tuvalu to gain residency in New Zealand. (By Chris Wang) ENDITEM/J