Work rules for Chinese spouses nixed

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.

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