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Foreign husbands complain of legal morass

"When you ask the different government departments about the same question, they give you different answers!" National Network of Foreign Spouses Liaison Officer Richard Hartzell barked over the phone, venting his frustration.

Hartzell, an American who is married to a Taiwanese woman and has been giving advice via e-mail to other foreign spouses for more than eight years, pointed out that it was difficult for foreign spouses to inform themselves about relevant laws because government agencies keep giving wrong information or incorrectly interpret laws.

While stories of foreign brides have frequently been featured in the local media, the lives of foreign husbands are rarely highlighted, perhaps due to their smaller numbers and better economic and educational positioning.

But the legal problems they face are pretty much the same that foreign brides encounter.

Hartzell said that most problems originated from the government's inability to give a consistent interpretation of the law -- and as an example, he cited the confusion within the government about work permits.

He said he met earlier this year with the representatives from the Ministry of Education and the Council of Labor Affairs to discuss work permits for foreigners, especially for those working at cram schools or bushibans.

Hartzell said that according to Article 48 of the newly revised Employment Services Act (就業服務法), a foreigner married to a Taiwanese and having residency rights based on the marriage had the right to work without needing a work permit. Ministry representatives, however, cited administrative regulations dating from 1999 which said foreigners needed a work permit to teach English in a bushiban.

Hartzell then asked the council to develop a single guideline on the scope of Article 48, but the council said it was impossible because there were too many kinds of jobs, so there was no way to make a comprehensive list of what jobs could be held by a foreigner married to a Taiwanese.

"When even the Council of Labor Affairs, the government authority in charge of the Employment Services Act, cannot decide what Article 48 in that act means, how can the average foreign spouse know how to abide by the laws?" Hartzell said.

Foreign husbands also complain that their children face discrimination from government officials.

"If you have children but get divorced, you have to leave the country. You are not offered any protection under the law," said Mark Williams, a 28 year-old British man who has been married for almost a year.

"Or say if I want to get a credit card. I have to find a person to endorse it [act as a guarantor] for me. Sometimes the government seems to not to want you to stay," he said.

"The government should treat foreign citizens more fairly, as they would like to have foreign governments treat Taiwanese expatriates" he said.

Holger Nygaard, a 30-year-old Dane who has been married to a Taiwanese woman for seven years, shared a similar view.

"If a Taiwanese expatriate was treated by a foreign government the same way a foreigner gets treated here, he or she would definitely complain a lot," Nygaard said.

Nygaard has two pre-school-aged daughters, who were born in Denmark.

When the family first returned to Taiwan, the government refused to register his children as citizens and give them passports.

Nygaard then sued the government and a court recognized the girls as Taiwanese.

His daughters, however, have been issued Alien Resident Certificates (ARCs) instead of Republic of China ID cards.

"It is in fact illegal for a Taiwanese to hold an ARC, but my daughters are given ARCs anyway. And we need to pay NT$1,000 a year for an ARC. That is a bit unfair, like extra tax," he complained.

Hartzell pointed out that government departments also have different opinions regarding who should be counted as foreigners.

"If a man holds an ARC but has a Taiwanese parent, the Ministry of Education is very likely to treat him as a foreigner based on the ARC, while the Ministry of the Interior would think him as a Taiwanese and have him conscripted by the military at the age of 18. It is all very confusing," Hartzell said.

It is no surprise that with all the confusion they face that many foreign spouses have doubts about living in Taiwan -- and complaints.

There is at least one Web site (http://forumosa.com) with links to discussion groups on several issues such as marriage regulations, dual nationality and work permits. Hartzell is listed on the site as the moderator for the majority of these links.
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