MAC allows affidavits in lieu of deregistration proof for some Chinese spouses

Taipei, April 10 (CNA) Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday announced four conditions under which some Chinese spouses and their children can be exempted from submitting proof of having renounced Chinese household registration, allowing them to provide affidavits instead of the required document.

The government can "only offer alternative measures to individuals who are objectively unable or face significant difficulties" in fulfilling the requirement of submitting proof, MAC deputy head and spokesperson Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said at a regular news briefing in Taipei.

The alternative -- providing an affidavit -- is grounded in the principle of "administering according to law," Liang said, adding that the authorities cannot exempt someone from a legal obligation simply because they are unwilling to comply.

The alternative can be applied to individuals who may face personal safety concerns when traveling to China -- such as those who have been persecuted for political or religious reasons -- as well as individuals with serious illnesses or injuries, such as being bedridden or having limited mobility, according to Liang.

Those who have not traveled to China since Jan. 1, 2015, are also eligible for the alternative, he said, adding that if any of the above three groups of individuals are later found to have traveled to China, the authorities may still require them to submit proof.

In addition, Liang said the alternative also applies to individuals who returned to Taiwan for settlement shortly after being born in China and claim they never held household registration in China -- a claim that must be verified by relevant authorities in Taiwan.

Liang said that most of those eligible under the last condition are children of Taiwanese businesspeople in China.

Liang's remarks came amid a recent controversy sparked by notices sent by the National Immigration Agency (NIA) to some Chinese spouses and their children in Taiwan, requiring them to submit proof of having renounced their household registration in China within three months of receiving the notice.

The requirement is stipulated in Article 9-1 of the Act Governing Relations between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area, which specifies that "the people of the Taiwan Area may not have household registrations in the Mainland Area," and those who violate this provision "shall be deprived of its status as the people of the Taiwan Area and its rights."

Among the 140,000 Chinese spouses granted "settlement residency" in Taiwan, most of them have already provided the required documentation, while around 12,000 have yet to do so and have been notified by the agency, NIA Deputy Director-General Chen Chieh-cheng (陳建成) said at a legislative session on Wednesday.

"Settlement residency" is an intermediate status granted to Chinese spouses in Taiwan after they complete various stages of residency and submit proof of having renounced their household registration in China. The statue allows them to apply for household registration in Taiwan within a 30-day window and thereby obtain Taiwanese citizenship.

According to the NIA, failure to provide the required proof within the period specified in the notice may result in the revocation of their "settlement residency" and a notification to the household registration office to cancel their Taiwanese household registration -- leading to the loss of Taiwanese citizenship for those who already hold it.

Hours before the MAC news briefing, several legislators from the Kuomintang (KMT) -- the opposition party with the most seats in the Legislature -- held a news conference urging authorities not to use administrative measures to target a specific group.

They called for a suspension of the ongoing review and a reassessment of the related measures, with lawmaker Weng Hsiao-ling (翁曉玲) saying the move has caused widespread public discontent and urging the government to consider the difficulties faced by families with Chinese spouses, rather than making things unnecessarily difficult for them.

Nadia Liu (劉千萍), chairperson of the Taiwan Immigration Youth Alliance, told CNA on Wednesday that while the requirement to submit proof appears to be a case of a government agency acting under the guise of legal procedure, it is actually the result of the authorities' failure to fully implement the policy in the past.

Liu questioned whether it should be considered an "oversight" by the relevant authorities, adding that the review itself has caused unease among all immigrants.

"Even after obtaining a Taiwanese ID, there remains uncertainty about whether the criteria might change again in the future," she added.