Many Chinese spouses required to submit proof of having renounced their Chinese household registration have either completed the process or provided affidavits ahead of the June 30 deadline, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said on Thursday.
Of the 12,146 people required to submit the proof, 5,534 had done so as of Wednesday, MAC deputy head and spokesperson Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said.
Another 2,572 people who met conditions for exemption or deferral from submitting proof of deregistration — such as those with serious illnesses or injuries — have submitted affidavits instead, he said.
Photo: Chung Li-hua, Taipei Times
“As long as individuals are willing to cooperate with the legal process to obtain the document, most cases can be completed,” he said.
The process referenced by Liang was outlined in notices sent by the National Immigration Agency to some Chinese spouses in Taiwan in early April asking them to submit proof of having renounced their household registration in China within three months of receiving the notice.
The requirement is stipulated in the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), which specifies that “the people of the Taiwan Area may not have household registrations in the Mainland Area.”
Those who violate this provision “shall be deprived of their status as the people of the Taiwan Area and their rights,” according to the act.
Among the more than 140,000 Chinese spouses granted legal status as Taiwanese citizens, more than 130,000 had already provided the proof, leaving only about 12,000 who were required to do so and were sent the notices, Liang said.
For the remaining 4,000 people who have yet to provide proof, the MAC said 1,803 are known to be living overseas and have not yet returned to Taiwan, and another 2,237 have yet to contact the government, Liang said, adding that the agency is trying to reach them.
“We don’t rule out that some of them are elderly, live in remote areas, might not use mobile phones, or even don’t watch TV,” Liang said. “That’s certainly possible, and we will continue doing our best to find them.”
Revoking someone’s “Taiwan status” is a “serious matter,” he said, adding that the government would make every effort to contact the spouses and confirm their intent.
The MAC’s move has drawn criticism from some Chinese spouses and local advocacy groups, with about 1,000 people protesting last month to voice their opposition.
Bruce Liao (廖元豪), an associate professor at National Chengchi University’s College of Law, said that the directive was “really inappropriate” and had caused “a great deal of distress.”
“Why would the government suddenly, after so many years, ask people to provide proof that, logically, should have been submitted 10 or even 20 years ago when they first applied for it [household registration in Taiwan]?” he said.
If more than 10,000 Chinese spouses truly failed to complete the required procedures at the time, “then it was a dereliction of duty on the part of government at the time,” Liao said.
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