Majority of Chinese spouses comply with deregistration rule: MAC

Taipei, June 27 (CNA) Many Chinese spouses required to submit proof of having renounced their Chinese household registration have either completed the process or provided affidavits ahead of the June 30 deadline, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said Thursday.

Of the 12,146 individuals required to submit the proof, 5,534 had done so as of Wednesday, MAC deputy head and spokesperson Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said at a news briefing in Taipei on Thursday.

Another 2,572 individuals who met the conditions for exemption or deferral from submitting proof of deregistration -- such as those with serious illnesses or injuries -- have submitted affidavits instead, Liang said.

"As long as individuals are willing to cooperate with the legal process to obtain the document, most cases can be completed," he said.

The process referenced by Liang was outlined in notices sent by the National Immigration Agency (NIA) to some Chinese spouses in Taiwan in early April asking them to submit proof of having renounced their household registration in China within three months of receiving the notice.

The requirement is stipulated in 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."

Those who violate this provision "shall be deprived of its status as the people of the Taiwan Area and its rights," the law says.

Among the over 140,000 Chinese spouses granted legal status as a citizen, more than 130,000 of them have already provided the required proof, leaving only around 12,000 who were required to do so and were sent the NIA notices, according to Liang.

For the remaining 4,000 or so individuals who have yet to provide proof, the MAC said 1,803 are known to be living overseas and have not yet returned to Taiwan, and another 2,237 individuals have yet to contact the government, and the NIA is trying to reach them.

"We don't rule out the possibility that some of them are elderly, live in remote areas, may not use mobile phones, or even don't watch TV," Liang said. "That's certainly possible, and we will continue doing our best to find them."

He said revoking someone's "Taiwan status" is a "serious matter," and the government will make every effort to contact the individual and confirm their intent.

Proof of deregistration will be accepted even after next Monday, as long as the individual demonstrates a clear willingness to comply, Liang said.

A criticized move

MAC's move has drawn criticism from some Chinese spouses and local advocacy groups, with around 1,000 people protesting in early May to voice their opposition.

Bruce Liao (廖元豪), an associate professor at National Chengchi University's College of Law, told CNA in an interview in late May that the directive was "really inappropriate" and had caused "a great deal of distress."

"Why would the government suddenly, after so many years, ask people to provide proof that, logically, should have been submitted 10 or even 20 years ago when they first applied for it [household registration in Taiwan]?" he said.

Liao argued that if more than 10,000 Chinese spouses truly failed to complete the required procedures at the time, "then it was a dereliction of duty on the part of government at the time."

Having known some Chinese spouses and their children, Liao said some of them faced considerable difficulties obtaining the proof, especially because local governments in China may no longer retain old household records or administrative structures might have changed.

The MAC's sudden requirement made some Chinese spouses feel it was a "political maneuver" or reflected "a lack of trust" in Chinese spouses who have lived in Taiwan for years, he said.

"This so-called political maneuver appears to be driven by anti-China sentiment or an attempt to demonstrate hostility toward China," Liao said.

The move also violated the principle of proportionality, he said, noting that losing one's citizenship over a single missing document was a harsh consequence.

"In most rule-of-law countries, this would be hard to imagine," Liao said. "Citizenship is not something that can be taken away lightly -- you would typically have to commit extremely serious crimes such as treason for that to happen."

"I feel like this is starting to resemble what we used to call ethnic profiling," Liao said, arguing that the government appears to be targeting a specific group -- people who happen to be from China -- assuming they will not dare to push back when asked to comply.