The Overseas Community Affairs Council (OCAC) issued the Overseas Compatriot Card (OCC) in 2018 with the aim of encouraging overseas compatriots to visit Taiwan. In addition to providing discounts, it has also been instrumental in helping overseas compatriots be reunited with their lost property.
The OCAC said that an overseas compatriot student from Vietnam surnamed Du came to Taiwan to take part in an activity organized by the OCAC and when he left on July 29, he accidentally lost his wallet.
The Lost Property Office at Taoyuan International Airport contacted the OCAC, saying that someone had found a wallet containing an OCC and a credit card but no other identification documents; having waited for the owner to show up to reclaim their property to no avail, they asked the OCAC to help locate the owner. The OCAC quickly identified the owner as Mr. Du by checking the OCC holder’s details.
The OCAC then proceeded to contact Du’s father by phone; when he was told that his son’s possessions had been found, he was full of praise for the public spiritedness of the Taiwanese and the service of the OCAC.
In actual fact, incidents like this have happened before. On February 21, the OCAC received a call from Nangang Police Station of the Railway Police Bureau, saying that a member of the public had found a mobile phone at Songshan Railway Station. It was taken to the police station but the owner could not be located. Then, an officer found there was an OCC in the phone cover and provided the number to the OCAC, after which the OCAC was able to find that the owner was a US overseas compatriot surnamed Li.
In both cases, the owner of the lost property had an OCC and it allowed them to be reunited with their phone and wallet, respectively. The OCAC called on overseas compatriots to carry an OCC and ID at all times when in Taiwan- “carry the cards, just in case"; this will not only allow them to easily prove their status as an overseas compatriot, it will also give them discounts when travelling in Taiwan.
