`First Wives Club' provides legal help for women

Taiwan wives who discover that their husbands have married another woman in China will soon have an avenue to seek help and share their experiences.

"Warm Life for Women" (晚晴協會) -- a non-profit association for divorced women -- yesterday announced that the association will soon establish a "First Wives Club" (大老婆俱樂部) to extend legal assistance to Taiwan women whose husbands have extramarital relationships in China.

According to Wu Yueh-chen (吳月珍), a senior counselor at the association, as cross-strait exchanges increase, more and more Taiwan men conducting business in China take two wives -- one on each side of the Strait.

"The practice known as `bao er nai' (包二奶), literally `having a second wife,' has become very common," Wu said yesterday.

According to Wu, neither the law in China nor that in Taiwan allows men to have extra-marital affairs. Given the large number of cross-strait marriages, however, Wu said that no law seems to have been able to prevent men from maintaining a marriage on each side of the Strait. "This is an unstoppable trend," she said.

Meanwhile, Shih Chih-ching (施寄青), a feminist activist and leader of the association, yesterday revealed that Taiwan wives' rights might be seriously harmed as both China and Taiwan are currently amending their marriage laws.

According to Shih, a couple with no marriage registration will be recognized as married after living together for a certain length of time under the amended marriage law in China.

"Many Taiwan businessmen might therefore divorce their wives in Taiwan to avoid an offense of bigamous marriage in China," Shih said.

According to the amended law in Taiwan, one can obtain a divorce from one's partner after being separated for five years.

"Women must learn how to live independently," Shih said. "The `First Wives Club' would love to provide women with necessary assistance," she added.