It was announced yesterday that Taiwan is to further liberalize regulations on the rights of Chinese wives of Taiwan nationals to remain in Taiwan, allowing those who are pregnant to stay in Taiwan for up to one year, and extending the right for three years once they have given birth.
Currently, Chinese brides are allowed to enter Taiwan to visit their husbands for up to six months if not pregnant. Those who are seven months or more pregnant may remain for one year.
The government will also double the maximum period that Chinese spouses who have applied for Taiwan residence permits may spend abroad within a consecutive two-year period from 60 days to 120 days.
Because of national-security considerations Chinese spouses of Taiwanese nationals do not gain permanent-residence rights in Taiwan simply by virtue of their marriage. To acquire a permanent-residence permit they must first have been married for at least two years and then have lived in Taiwan for two years after submitting their application.
A quota of 3,600 residence permits is issued each year to Chinese nationals in Taiwan. Chinese spouses of Taiwan nationals whose applications are not included in the quota for two consecutive years are automatically issued with a residence permit four years after submitting their application.
The changes were approved at an inter-ministerial meeting yesterday and announced by the director of the Mainland Affairs Council's (MAC) department of legal affairs, Jeff Yang (
Yesterday's meeting also approved revisions that would entitle Chinese spouses of deceased, mentally retarded or physically handicapped Taiwanese nationals, who have parents-in-law over 65 year-old or children under 18 in Taiwan to apply to come to Taiwan to take care of such persons.
As to the extension of the number of days allowed to remain overseas while a permanent-residence permit is under application, Yang said the time constraints put Chinese spouses who wish to go home under a lot of pressure.
Air travel is prohibitively expensive for ordinary Chinese and it can take days to travel form one city to another by other means of transport.
"The extension from 60 days to 120 days can help improving this situation," Yang said.
The revision will benefit an estimated 130,000 cross-strait couples, according to statistics from the Straits Exchange Foundation.
The council will send the relevant administrative orders to the Executive Yuan for approval. Revisions of administrative orders do not need the approval of the Legislative Yuan.
MAC Vice Chairman Jonathon Liu (
The SEF released a newsletter on Wednesday saying that some Chinese brides had been ordered to abort their pregnancies during trips back to China since the beginning of last year.
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
CHINA POLICY: At the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China, the two sides issued strong support for Taiwan and condemned China’s actions in the South China Sea The US and EU issued a joint statement on Wednesday supporting Taiwan’s international participation, notably omitting the “one China” policy in a departure from previous similar statements, following high-level talks on China and the Indo-Pacific region. The statement also urged China to show restraint in the Taiwan Strait. US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and European External Action Service Secretary-General Stefano Sannino cochaired the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China and the sixth US-EU Indo-Pacific Consultations from Monday to Tuesday. Since the Indo-Pacific consultations were launched in 2021, references to the “one China” policy have appeared in every statement apart from the
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from