A group of Chinese spouses of Taiwan citizens yesterday urged the government to ease restrictions on their stay in Taiwan and on their gaining Taiwanese citizenship.
The spouses made the appeal at a press conference convened by Legislator Tina Pan (
Pan noted that 59,185 Chinese wives of Taiwan citizens have applied to stay in Taiwan and that only 16,620 have gained approval, and more than 40,000 are still waiting.
If they are forced to wait according to the annual quota of 3,600 set by the government, many will have to wait for 12 years before they can receive resident status.
She called such a long waiting period "inhumane," vowing that she would propose a revision of the regulations in the next legislative session in order to ease the restrictions. This would enable Chinese brides to obtain residency in Taiwan as soon as possible.
He Shun-shun, the Chinese wife of popular entertainer Ling Feng, said that she finally won the right to work in Taiwan after waiting for a decade.
Chen Yen, who used to teach at an art school in China, has been married to a citizen of Taiwan for two years. Noting that her husband is old and has a low income, she said she cannot imagine what might happen if she has to wait for more than 10 years to obtain an ID card in Taiwan.
She asked why Chinese spouses of Taiwanese citizens have to wait for more than 10 years when those from Thailand only need wait three years at the most.
The Chinese wives also expressed mixed views about the Executive Yuan's announcement Friday that it would open Taiwan from the start of next year on a trial basis to a limited number of Chinese tourists who are overseas students or permanent residents of other countries.
Ho said this step represents only the beginning and that after Taiwan and China both enter the WTO, more openings will be inevitable.
If Chinese can come to Taiwan, this will be very positive, she said, adding optimistically that she believes that people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait will be able to dissolve their misunderstandings about each other through mutual exchanges.
But Chen said the government still has too many restrictions in place which does not help her, pointing out that she has two children in China and that only one of them at a time can come to visit her under the current regulations.
She said that she cannot understand why the government is placing so many restrictions on Chinese, adding that "there is no need to be so nervous."
Another Chinese bride, named Ying Yuan-yuan, said that the figure of only 1,000 Chinese tourists to be allowed to visit Taiwan per day is "a paltry number" and will not "give enough economic benefits to Taiwan."
The US government has signed defense cooperation agreements with Japan and the Philippines to boost the deterrence capabilities of countries in the first island chain, a report by the National Security Bureau (NSB) showed. The main countries on the first island chain include the two nations and Taiwan. The bureau is to present the report at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee tomorrow. The US military has deployed Typhon missile systems to Japan’s Yamaguchi Prefecture and Zambales province in the Philippines during their joint military exercises. It has also installed NMESIS anti-ship systems in Japan’s Okinawa
‘WIN-WIN’: The Philippines, and central and eastern European countries are important potential drone cooperation partners, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung said Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) in an interview published yesterday confirmed that there are joint ventures between Taiwan and Poland in the drone industry. Lin made the remark in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper). The government-backed Taiwan Excellence Drone International Business Opportunities Alliance and the Polish Chamber of Unmanned Systems on Wednesday last week signed a memorandum of understanding in Poland to develop a “non-China” supply chain for drones and work together on key technologies. Asked if Taiwan prioritized Poland among central and eastern European countries in drone collaboration, Lin
BACK TO WORK? Prosecutors said they are considering filing an appeal, while the Hsinchu City Government said it has applied for Ann Kao’s reinstatement as mayor The High Court yesterday found suspended Hsinchu mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) not guilty of embezzling assistant fees, reducing her sentence to six months in prison commutable to a fine from seven years and four months. The verdict acquitted Kao of the corruption charge, but found her guilty of causing a public official to commit document forgery. The High Prosecutors’ Office said it is reviewing the ruling and considering whether to file an appeal. The Taipei District Court in July last year sentenced Kao to seven years and four months in prison, along with a four-year deprivation of civil rights, for contravening the Anti-Corruption
NO CONFIDENCE MOTION? The premier said that being toppled by the legislature for defending the Constitution would be a democratic badge of honor for him Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) yesterday announced that the Cabinet would not countersign the amendments to the local revenue-sharing law passed by the Legislative Yuan last month. Cho said the decision not to countersign the amendments to the Act Governing the Allocation of Government Revenues and Expenditures (財政收支劃分法) was made in accordance with the Constitution. “The decision aims to safeguard our Constitution,” he said. The Constitution stipulates the president shall, in accordance with law, promulgate laws and issue mandates with the countersignature of the head of the Executive Yuan, or with the countersignatures of both the head of the Executive Yuan and ministers or
RSS