In addition to tightening immigration regulations for Chinese nationals, the Cabinet is mapping out concrete plans for a proposed foundation in which NT$3 billion will be allocated to help foreign spouses of Taiwanese residents over the next 10 years.
"To help them better cope with our culture and society, we're thinking of providing foreign spouses with language programs or compulsory education," said Minister without Portfolio Fu Li-yeh (傅立葉), who has been assigned by Premier Yu Shyi-kun to handle the establishment of the foundation.
"In addition to encouraging them to form support groups among themselves, we're also mulling the possibility of recognizing degrees from overseas educational institutions," Fu said.
Some foreign spouses have complained about the government's policy of not recognizing degrees offered by educational institutions in countries such as Indonesia and China.
While Taiwanese nationals are required by law to be enrolled in the nine-year compulsory education system from the age of six, the law does not specify punishment for those who dodge it.
Fu said that it would be unfair for the government to compel older foreign spouses to accept the mandatory education.
"The bottom line is that we'd like to see more foreign spouses improving their Chinese literacy," she said.
Studies show that language barriers are the biggest problem facing the nation's 300,000 foreign spouses. Language problems affect not only their relationship with their husband or wife, but also causes friction with their in-laws and adversely impacts on their children's education.
According to the Ministry of the Interior, children with a foreign parent generally do not perform as well at school as pupils with two Taiwanese parents.
According to official statistics, as of May there were over 312,000 foreign spouses living in Taiwan. About 191,000 of them are from China, while more than 112,000 are from Southeast Asia and over 9,800 are from Hong Kong or Macau.
While 6,945 students from families with one foreign parent entered the school system in the previous school year, the ministry estimates that this number will increase to over 13,000 in the present school year, about 17,000 next year, more than 23,200 in 2006, about 27,000 in 2007 and over 30,000 in 2008.
One in every 3.1 marriages last year involved a foreign spouse, and one in every 7.5 children born had a foreign parent.
Meanwhile, in response to the decreasing birth rate and a rise in the proportion of elderly people, the Cabinet has approved a NT$84 million package to promote marriage at a younger age and more pregnancies over the next three years.
The Cabinet has also decided to tighten immigration regulations for Chinese nationals until the national birth rate meets upgraded population goals.
Under the new regulations, the annual number of Chinese immigrants will be limited to 16 percent of the difference between the expected average population growth over the past three years and the actual growth.
This formula has resulted in an annual maximum of 10,000 Chinese immigrants for the next six years. The annual quota for permanent residency for Chinese nationals is expected to drop to between 5,000 and 8,000 by 2010.
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