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Chinese spouses protest

Several hundred Chinese spouses and their Taiwanese families yesterday went to the Legislative Yuan in their second demonstration in a month against a proposal to extend the length of time they must be married before becoming eligible for citizenship.

But the response of the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) suggested that there was little prospect of the government backing down on the issue.

The council said that those who had taken to the streets did not represent the majority of Chinese spouses and that the demonstrators, led by the Cross-Strait Marriage Association, had "totally ignored the government's sincere desire to solve their problems."

The marchers chanted, "Against extending the waiting period" and "[MAC chairwoman] Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) should step down for this."

The association said it would continue to hold demonstrations for as long as necessary.

It also said in a statement distributed to reporters, "We will find out the home addresses of MAC officials to tell their neighbors about the council's inhumane measures."

The MAC, however, said yesterday that the government had done a lot to help improve Chinese spouses' lives in Taiwan.

"The new regulations are aimed at improving their lives in Taiwan ? but they should show understanding for Taiwan's limited ability to provide social welfare," MAC Vice Chairman Jonathon Liu (劉德勳) said at a news conference after the protest.

The council has expressed its concern that the government may not be able to continue to bear the costs of welfare provision for the rapidly growing number of marriages involving Chinese nationals.

A draft amendment to the Statute Governing the Relations between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (兩岸人民關係條例) that is now before the legislature would extend the waiting period for Taiwan citizenship for Chinese spouses of Taiwanese from eight to 11 years.

But the amendment would also ease many restrictions on Chinese spouses during that time.

It would, for instance, grant Chinese spouses to the right to work, obtain insurance, education and welfare benefits earlier than at present.

Detailed administrative regulations on this, however, await an inter-ministerial meeting to be held in the near future.

The director of the MAC's department of legal affairs, Jeff Yang (楊家駿), told reporters that Chinese spouses who have already obtained the right of residence and are awaiting citizenship would remain subject to the old regulations stipulating an eight-year waiting period.

"There are some misunderstandings among the demonstrators. But they would not listen to our explanations," Yang said.

He said that the MAC had held seminars during the past few months to explain the new policy to Chinese spouses, but "no one from the association came."

Yang said that any problem that Chinese spouses encounter in their daily lives should be reported to the MAC, which would endeavor to assist them. But he said a demonstration is "not rational or good."

In the Legislative Yuan, cross-party negotiations over the amendments remained deadlocked last night with disagreement over major articles, including those on Chinese spouses and direct cross-strait transportation.
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