Chinese spouse rights to increase

Chinese spouses married to Taiwan nationals, by far the majority of them housewives, have to wait for at least six years before they can be allowed to work.

There are other restrictions, from which spouses from other countries are exempt. The non-Chinese mates are required to wait for two to four years to obtain the identification cards and work permits.

All this will change when the Statute Governing the Relations Between People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area is amended.

"We are considering amending that law," MAC chairwoman Lai Shing-yuan said yesterday.

In an address before the Association for Promotion of Cross-Strait Marriages, Lai said the law will be amended step by step to protect the working rights of Chinese spouses in Taiwan.

There are over 300,000 Chinese spouses in Taiwan.

"We need to ease restrictions on their work here," Lai said. "But more ground work has to be laid, and that's why we will ease the restrictions step by step."

She refused to give the timetable.

Currently, a Chinese spouse has to pass the first two years after marriage separated from his or her mate. He or she is allowed to come to Taiwan for "reunion" during the two years.

Then comes another period of waiting. Chinese spouses have to spend four more years of "dependency" on their mates in Taiwan.

They may stay in Taiwan but can't work until after the four-year observation period. During the four years, they may be granted work permits, if their mates have low income, or are more than 65 years old or handicapped.

Should Chinese spouses suffer family violence, they may apply for work permits, which are likely to be granted.

"We want to give Chinese spouses equal rights," said Wang Ju-hsuan, chairwoman of the Council of Labor Affairs. She meant rights equal to those from other countries married to Taiwan citizens.

She had plans drawn up for giving those equal rights to Chinese spouses in four months after she assumed office on last May 20.

A women's rights advocate, Wang is also planning to award those rights to Chinese spouses without amending the statute.

All her CLA has to do is rewrite the executive orders to allow the Chinese spouses to apply for and be granted their work permits within the four years of their "dependency" in Taiwan.

"We have to amend the statute," a CLA official said, "if work permits are to be awarded during the 'reunion' stage of the marriage of Chinese spouses."

The CLA may so change the executive orders as to make it possible for Chinese spouses to work during their "dependency" in Taiwan, said the official, who refused to be identified.

However, he added, the CLA has to consult the Ministry of the Interior to rewrite the executive orders.

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