Chinese accents can be seen everywhere in Taiwan's public places these days. In local hospitals, most caregivers are Chinese women nominally married to a local so they can work illegally in Taiwan. Some immigrant Chinese set up stalls in night markets, while others work in the restaurants, or even the sex industry. The antiques and jade accessories sold by the Chinese vendors are cheap and good bargains, even if they turn out to be fake. This is nothing new.
However, there is little public awareness about their situation. The average wage for illegal Chinese immigrants is much lower than Taiwanese workers, and they share approximately the same language. Since manpower agencies can profit, many Taiwanese "snakeheads" continue to smuggle Chinese people into Taiwan, even at the risk of going to jail.
According to a survey published by the Taipei County Government on Monday, among the 47,191 foreign and Chinese citizens in Taiwan by marriage, about 43.7 percent of them cannot be traced. Among the 20,646 missing spouses, 10,211 of them do not reside at their stated addresses, 3,502 were divorced, and 6,933 had left Taiwan.
Since the survey results did not separate foreign spouses from Chinese spouses, it isn't possible to tell what proportion of the missing are Chinese. This indicates that the Taipei County Government is not politically sensitive to the issue, and is also unaware of the potential threat posed by missing and absconding Chinese spouses. Brides from Southeast Asia or other countries do not pose a national security threat to Taiwan, and when they go missing they merely represent flaws in our law enforcement system. But because of the long-standing antipathy between China and Taiwan, Chinese illegal immigrants or those who enter through bogus marriages might have specific political or military missions, and should be considered a national security threat.
According to the survey conducted by the Ministry of the Interior last November, of the 320,000 foreign spouses in Taiwan, non-Chinese spouses only accounted for 70,000, an indication of how common marriage across the Taiwan Strait is. If this survey is taken together with the Taipei County Government's, the security and political implications of these Chinese spouses coming to Taiwan under the legal pretext of marriage, let alone the large numbers of unaccounted for illegal immigrants can no longer be overlooked.
According to a March 17 report in the Taipei Times, a US military delegation arrived in Taiwan last week to discuss the possibility of a Chinese invasion and the numbers of Chinese who might be employed as a fifth column to aid such an invasion. Illegal Chinese is a question over which our government should be very concerned. The lack of public awareness about this is largely due to the government's failure to provide adequate publicity. The "greater China" consciousness of the opposition further obstructs the government, making it difficult to enforce regulations.
For the sake of public safety and national security, it's time for the government to tighten enforcement and investigation of all illegal immigrants, including foreign spouses. They should launch publicity campaigns to raise awareness, initiate random street corner and place of employment identity checks, and demand stiff punishment for companies that illegally employ them and agents that deal in illegal immigrants. This issue can no longer be ignored.
Lockheed Martin on Tuesday responded to concerns over delayed shipments of F-16V Block 70 jets, saying it had added extra shifts on its production lines to accelerate progress. The Ministry of National Defense on Monday said that delivery of all 66 F-16V Block 70 jets — originally expected by the end of next year — would be pushed back due to production line relocations and global supply chain disruptions. Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) said that Taiwan and the US are working to resolve the delays, adding that 50 of the aircraft are in production, with 10 scheduled for flight
On Sunday, 13 new urgent care centers (UCC) officially began operations across the six special municipalities. The purpose of the centers — which are open from 8am to midnight on Sundays and national holidays — is to reduce congestion in hospital emergency rooms, especially during the nine-day Lunar New Year holiday next year. It remains to be seen how effective these centers would be. For one, it is difficult for people to judge for themselves whether their condition warrants visiting a major hospital or a UCC — long-term public education and health promotions are necessary. Second, many emergency departments acknowledge
Victory in conflict requires mastery of two “balances”: First, the balance of power, and second, the balance of error, or making sure that you do not make the most mistakes, thus helping your enemy’s victory. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has made a decisive and potentially fatal error by making an enemy of the Jewish Nation, centered today in the State of Israel but historically one of the great civilizations extending back at least 3,000 years. Mind you, no Israeli leader has ever publicly declared that “China is our enemy,” but on October 28, 2025, self-described Chinese People’s Armed Police (PAP) propaganda
Chinese Consul General in Osaka Xue Jian (薛劍) on Saturday last week shared a news article on social media about Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remarks on Taiwan, adding that “the dirty neck that sticks itself in must be cut off.” The previous day in the Japanese House of Representatives, Takaichi said that a Chinese attack on Taiwan could constitute “a situation threatening Japan’s survival,” a reference to a legal legal term introduced in 2015 that allows the prime minister to deploy the Japan Self-Defense Forces. The violent nature of Xue’s comments is notable in that it came from a diplomat,
RSS