The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) and Straits Exchange Foundation held a joint Mother’s Day care event for Chinese spouses on Friday. MAC Chair Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said that requiring Chinese spouses to renounce their Chinese household registration is in part to help them integrate into Taiwanese society, and afford them a better chance to live and work without having their identities questioned.
Taiwan’s government has cracked down on enforcing a 2004 law that requires Chinese spouses who wish to permanently resettle in Taiwan to submit proof of renouncing their Chinese household registration. Although the law has been on the books since 2004, there was a period of lax enforcement during the COVID-19 pandemic, as more exemptions were handed out due to travel difficulties. Currently, of the 140,000 Chinese spouses registered in Taiwan, more than 130,000 have complied with the law to apply for renunciation of the Chinese household registration.
Chiu says that this is in accordance with a project beginning in October of last year to implement a “one identity” system across the Strait. He suggested that this was proposed as a way to face the problem of having Chinese spouses having their identities questioned– under this system, all those who abide by the law will have the full support of the government to help them carry out the new policy. Then, according to Chiu, spouses can finally “have a legal identity, and live and work in peace.”
He also says the process is going smoothly, with most registered Chinese spouses having completed the legal procedure. Furthermore, the Interior Ministry Immigration Agency is accepting applications for affidavits, or deadline extensions until the end of June for those who have experienced difficulties traveling to China to complete the process. According to Deputy Interior Minister Ma Shi-yuan (馬士元), about 1,200 applications have been received so far.
The MAC also arranged for four Chinese spouses to speak with the media on the matter. While some said they did not meet the age requirement stipulated to submit for household registration renunciation, others admitted that financial ties had given them pause. One woman from Shanghai admitted she still paid social security in Shanghai because she didn’t want the previous year’s payments to be “in vain”. Another, who has lived in Taiwan for upwards of 20 years and had already submitted to renounce their household registration, suggested the government hold more widespread briefings to clarify the process.
Finally, referring to the four Chinese spouses who were deported back to China after advocating for reunification by force, Chiu says that the government believes most spouses support the government’s actions in accordance with the law. Not to be ignorant of the suffering caused by such forced separations, Chiu emphasized that the government's position of support for Chinese spouses who abide peacefully in Taiwan has never changed, saying as long as you identify with Taiwan, you will be provided for to the best of their ability.