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Divorce reform questioned

Women's rights groups urged lawmakers yesterday to spend more time on a draft amendment that would enable people to apply for a no-contest divorce if they have been separated for three years.

The activists were referring to the first reading Monday of a draft amendment to Article 1052 of the Civil Code by the legislature's Judicial Committee.

Speaking at a press conference yesterday, activists from the Taiwan Women's Link, the Women's League and 14 other women's groups said that, while they agree with the draft amendment in spirit, they believe it is not sufficiently detailed.

"We create laws to solve people's problems, not to create more problems," said Hsu Chia-ching (徐佳青), secretary-general of the Women's League. "I'm sorry to say that this amendment is not well-organized and fails to include certain necessary mechanisms. It will only create more marriage problems once it becomes a law."

Among the groups' main complaints is that the proposal fails to specify what would constitute three years of separation, or living apart. They pointed out that many Taiwanese couples live apart because of professional needs.

"For example, I personally think that the new law shouldn't go without a definition of being separated for more than three years,'" Hsu said.

"I mean, how do you define the three-year period of being separated? Does that mean that anybody will be eligible to divorce his spouse once he hasn't lived with his wife for more than three years under all kinds of circumstances?

"If that's the case, I'm afraid that Taiwanese businessmen in China will be able to dump their Taiwanese spouses more easily so they can marry their Chinese girlfriends, since it's not difficult for them to stay in China for three consecutive years," Hsu said.

The women said, however, that they would favor some period of required "breathing time" for couples seeking a no-contest divorce. Sue Huang (黃淑英), chairwoman of Taiwan Women's Link, said that the time would function as a cooling-off period in which couples would be forced to make sure they truly want a divorce.

In closing, the women urged lawmakers to be stricter and more thorough when they proceed with the second review of the proposal.

The legislature's Judicial Committee finished their first review of the amendment on Monday.

The second and third readings will be held between today and Friday, when the amendment is scheduled to be voted on in the Legislative Yuan.
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