Under a draft amendment to a law passed by the Executive Yuan yesterday, the Chinese spouses -- mostly wives -- will be basically treated like overseas spouses from other areas.

They can work as long as they enter Taiwan legally, instead of having to meet a host of requirements as they do now, including having lived here for at least two years, having kids or having low income.

The draft amendment still needs to be approved by the Legislative Yuan before taking effect. If ratified by lawmakers, it will also shorten the period of time that it takes for the Chinese immigrants to qualify for an ID card of the Republic of China to six years from eight years.

That is still two years longer than the time it takes a spouse from any other country, such as Vietnam or the Philippines, to obtain an ID card.

The move comes as Taiwan and China have begun building warmer ties since President Ma Ying-jeou came into office in May.

Officials of previous administrations had argued that the restrictive rules on Chinese spouses were imposed to prevent fake marriages and marriages based on weak foundations, often arranged by marriage agencies.

They also admitted there were concerns about an influx of mainlanders in Taiwan, despite the fact that single Taiwanese men tend to marry them more than women from other countries.

But the Chinese spouses and non-governmental groups representing them have long called such policies discriminatory. Fake marriages can also exist among spouses from other countries and the divorce rate of mainland spouses are no higher than that of local Taiwanese couples.

There are an estimated 290,000 mainland Chinese spouses here -- making them the largest group of non-native spouses in Taiwan.They have become a major source to help generate and raise the younger generation of children as the birth rate among the natives continues to decline.

Another existing restriction that limits the amount of money the mainland spouses can inherit from their Taiwanese spouse to NT$2 million will also be scrapped, according to the draft amendment to the Statute Governing the Relations between the People of Taiwan Area and the People of Mainland Area.

Premier Liu Chao-shiuan said the dramatic changes are meant to "protect the legal Chinese spouses and crack down on the illegal ones in a bid to provide better protection to the working, ID card and property rights of legal Chinese spouses."

Liu noted that the Chinese spouses are a part of Taiwan's society, and that the government has to address their rights so that they feel accepted here.

Liu said the government will not allow Chinese people who come to Taiwan in convenience marriages to work here at the expense of the job opportunities of local people.

He demanded the Ministry of the Interior and other related agencies strengthen the interview process that assesses whether the marriages are genuine upon the Chinese spouses' arrival as well as more thorough visits to their homes after they begin living in Taiwan.

Lai Shin-yuan, chairwoman of the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC), said the amendment signifies a major reform regarding the rights of Chinese spouses in Taiwan and a realization of the protection of human rights.

Commenting on the amended law that shortens the years required for Chinese spouses to get IDs to six years, Lai said around 31,000 Chinese spouses who have already stayed in Taiwan for over six years will get IDs immediately.

The government also plans to scrap a regulation that has made it impossible for the spouses to sponsor their children from a previous marriage to join them in Taiwan.

Under a current rule, Chinese spouses have to stay in Taiwan for at least eight years before they can register their household here and another five years after that before they can apply to have their biological children under 12 years of age to come to Taiwan.

But Lai noted that after waiting eight years and then another five years, the children would be at least 13 and would no longer qualify to come here under the rule.

She criticized the regulation as being "unreasonable and not in line with human rights," adding that the Ministry of the Interior will scrap that as well.