An amendment that would allow couples to get a divorce through court mediation passed the legislature’s Judiciary and Organic Laws and Statutes Committee yesterday.
Under the revision to the Civil Code, a divorce could be obtained through court mediation, after which the court would be required to notify the couple’s household registration office.
The amendment will proceed to a plenary legislative session for further debate without undergoing cross-party negotiations.
It was proposed and endorsed by legislators across party lines, including Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Chiang Yi-hsiung (江義雄) and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators Huang Sue-ying (黃淑英), Chen Chieh-ju (陳節如) and Wong Chin-chu (翁金珠).
Huang yesterday said married couples could currently divorce with the consent of both parties or through a court ruling, but a divorce through court mediation would offer a platform for rational communication and protect the interests of the spouse who is at a disadvantage in the process.
The Ministry of the Interior supported the revision.
Jair Lan-pin (翟蘭萍), senior executive officer of the Department of Household Registration Affairs, said tacking on the house registration rule was necessary because Article 48 of the Household Registration Act (戶籍法) requires household registration authorities to change the marital status of individuals who are granted a divorce but who fail to report the change.
Juvenile and Household Affairs Office Deputy Director Hsu Shih-feng (?? said that while divorced individuals would be able to take their court mediation record to the household registration office to change their marital status, they would need to wait for the court to notify the office as well.
Meanwhile, the legislative committee also approved amendments to the Consumer Debt Clearance Regulations (消費者債務清理條例) that would allow debtors struggling with repayment to seek legal assistance from local consumer protection authorities.
To help local governments cope with the added workload, the committee attached a clause to empower the Judicial Yuan and Executive Yuan to negotiate on government funding.
Three batches of banana sauce imported from the Philippines were intercepted at the border after they were found to contain the banned industrial dye Orange G, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. From today through Sept. 2 next year, all seasoning sauces from the Philippines are to be subject to the FDA’s strictest border inspection, meaning 100 percent testing for illegal dyes before entry is allowed, it said in a statement. Orange G is an industrial coloring agent that is not permitted for food use in Taiwan or internationally, said Cheng Wei-chih (鄭維智), head of the FDA’s Northern Center for
The Chinese military has built landing bridge ships designed to expand its amphibious options for a potential assault on Taiwan, but their combat effectiveness is limited due to their high vulnerability, a defense expert said in an analysis published on Monday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a research fellow at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said that the deployment of such vessels as part of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy’s East Sea Fleet signals a strong focus on Taiwan. However, the ships are highly vulnerable to precision strikes, which means they could be destroyed before they achieve their intended
LOOKING NORTH: The base would enhance the military’s awareness of activities in the Bashi Channel, which China Coast Guard ships have been frequenting, an expert said The Philippine Navy on Thursday last week inaugurated a forward operating base in the country’s northern most province of Batanes, which at 185km from Taiwan would be strategically important in a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait. The Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted Northern Luzon Command Commander Lieutenant General Fernyl Buca as saying that the base in Mahatao would bolster the country’s northern defenses and response capabilities. The base is also a response to the “irregular presence this month of armed” of China Coast Guard vessels frequenting the Bashi Channel in the Luzon Strait just south of Taiwan, the paper reported, citing a
About 4.2 million tourist arrivals were recorded in the first half of this year, a 10 percent increase from the same period last year, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. The growth continues to be consistent, with the fourth quarter of this year expected to be the peak in Taiwan, the agency said, adding that it plans to promote Taiwan overseas via partnerships and major events. From January to June, 9.14 million international departures were recorded from Taiwan, an 11 percent increase from the same period last year, with 3.3 million headed for Japan, 1.52 million for China and 832,962 to South Korea,
RSS