TAIPEI: A teacher at a senior high school in Kaohsiung County who allegedly told a student born to a foreign parent to "go back to Indonesia and be a barbarian" could face a fine if he fails to correct his behavior, a "National Immigration Agency" official said yesterday.

Acting NIA deputy chief Hu Jing-fu made the remarks while receiving a petition from some 20 representatives of several human rights groups calling for more attention to the case involving discrimination against new immigrants.

Wu Chia-chen, director of TransAsia Sisters Association's North Taiwan Office, said the teacher's discriminatory remarks could deepen misunderstandings about new immigrants and negatively impact relations between parents and their children.

At present, more than 26,000 out of a total of 420,000 new immigrants to Taiwan through marriage are from Indonesia, Wu noted, adding that if the government does not ban or punish such discriminatory remarks, there could be an adverse impact on racial and ethnic harmony.

In response, Hu said the agency will ask its review panel to look into the case in accordance with the Immigration Act and instruct the teacher to improve his behavior. If he fails to do so he will face a fine ranging between NT$5,000 and NT$30,000, according to Hu.

China Daily/CNA

(HK Edition 01/14/2010 page2)