Taipei: Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) announced new provisions allowing certain Chinese spouses and their children to submit affidavits instead of proof of having renounced Chinese household registration. This policy change is applicable under four specific conditions.
According to Focus Taiwan, MAC deputy head and spokesperson Liang Wen-chieh explained that these alternative measures are for individuals who objectively cannot fulfill the requirement of submitting proof. Liang emphasized that the authorities cannot simply exempt someone from a legal obligation due to unwillingness to comply. The affidavit option is available to those facing personal safety concerns when traveling to China, individuals with serious illnesses or injuries, and those who have not traveled to China since January 1, 2015. If any of these individuals are later found to have traveled to China, they may still be required to provide proof.
Liang also noted that the alternative applies to individuals who returned to Taiwan shortly after birth in China and claim never to have held household registration there. This claim must be verified by relevant Taiwanese authorities, and most of those eligible under this condition are children of Taiwanese businesspeople in China.
The announcement follows a recent controversy involving the National Immigration Agency (NIA), which sent notices to some Chinese spouses in Taiwan, requiring them to prove they had renounced their Chinese household registration within three months. This requirement is part of Article 9-1 of the Act Governing Relations between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area, which states that people of the Taiwan Area cannot have household registrations in the Mainland Area.
NIA Deputy Director-General Chen Chieh-cheng reported that of the 140,000 Chinese spouses granted "settlement residency" in Taiwan, around 12,000 had not yet submitted the required documentation and were notified by the agency. "Settlement residency" is an intermediate status for Chinese spouses in Taiwan, allowing them to apply for Taiwanese citizenship upon providing proof of household registration renunciation in China.
Failure to provide the proof within the notice period may lead to revocation of "settlement residency" and cancellation of Taiwanese household registration, resulting in the loss of Taiwanese citizenship.
On the same day as the MAC briefing, Kuomintang (KMT) legislators urged a suspension of the ongoing review and reassessment of the measures, citing public discontent and the difficulties faced by families with Chinese spouses. Weng Hsiao-ling, a KMT lawmaker, emphasized the need for the government to consider these challenges.
Nadia Liu, chairperson of the Taiwan Immigration Youth Alliance, criticized the requirement, suggesting it stems from past failures to implement the policy effectively. Liu expressed concerns about future changes to the criteria, which contribute to uncertainty among immigrants in Taiwan.