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Chinese spouses protest 'declining human rights'

Chinese spouses of Taiwanese, accompanied by members of a social activist group, filed a protest yesterday against what they called "declining human rights" in Taiwan.

Several Chinese spouses said at a news conference at the National Immigration Agency that unreasonable policies -- including the interview policy upon arrival, a long waiting period for citizenship and restrictions on working -- have made their lives difficult.

Members of the Chunghua Cross-Strait Marriage Consultation Association, which called the news conference, asked the government to respect the rights of Chinese spouses.

They said that since the government opened the door to cross-strait marriages in 1987, Chinese spouses have endured discrimination.

For example, the Mainland Affairs Council proposed in 2002 that the waiting period for Chinese spouses to obtain Republic of China (ROC) citizenship be extended from eight years to 11 years, although the proposal was later dropped, they said.

The council then imposed a quota system for their citizenship application, they said.

The government also launched an interview policy in recent years to screen Chinese spouses with questions that were considered to infringe upon their privacy, the group said.

In June, the Ministry of the Interior published a demographic white paper that reduced quotas for Chinese spouses settling in Taiwan, they said.

Since Sept. 1, Chinese spouses intending to enter Taiwan after marriage have been required to produce health certificates from state-run hospitals, licensed private hospitals or university-affiliated hospitals and certified by a Chinese notary agency, they said.

The clean bill of health must then be certified by the Straits Exchange Foundation to prove the document's validity, they said.

The association said that of the 250,000 Chinese spouses living in Taiwan only about 30,000 have ROC identity cards.

In response, the National Immigration Agency said it would conduct a thorough review to address the grievances.

Regarding a suggestion by association members that the agency revise the regulations on the interview system and the waiting period, the agency said that draft revisions were sent to the Executive Yuan for approval in October.

On the provision of a financial statement, officials said that all Chinese spouses of Taiwanese nationals have to be interviewed, but the requirement to provide a financial statement is decided on a case by case basis.

They said that when Chinese spouses enter Taiwan, they do not have work permits issued by the Council of Labor Affairs, meaning that Taiwanese nationals have to provide their living expenses.
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