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Rights group urges more protection for immigrant spouses

"Foreign spouses have to go through a long process before becoming a citizen [of this country]. "

Tseng Chao-yuan, Awakening Foundation secretary-general

Women's rights groups yesterday called for more legal protection from domestic violence for immigrants following the sentencing of a foreign spouse in a murder case.

"Foreign spouses have to go through a long process before becoming a citizen [of this country]," Awakening Foundation secretary-general Tseng Chao-yuan (曾昭媛) said at a rally outside the Taipei District Court.

"During the application process, [the Taiwanese] spouse is often the only guarantor -- they [the immigrant] isn't even able to obtain a work permit without the help of their spouse," Tseng said.

Foreign spouses often choose not to report domestic violence out of fear of divorce and forced repatriation, Tseng said.

Hence, there are cases like Zhao Yenbing's (趙岩冰), a 53-year old Chinese, who killed her husband of three years, surnamed Chia (賈), last year after years of domestic violence. He had repeatedly threatened to kill her.

Zhao was convicted of killing her husband, but her sentence was reduced to 18 months because the judge said her act was "legitimate self-defense," Women's Rescue Foundation executive director Fran Gau (高小帆) said.

"It was a monumental verdict -- the first time the `legitimate self-defense' factor has been considered in such a case," Gau said.

However, rights groups believe that legal protection for immigrant spouses is still not enough.

"I suggest that we follow the example of the US system in which [foreign immigrant] women suffering from domestic violence may be allowed to apply for permanent residency by themselves," Tseng said.
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