KMT proposal to ease rules for Chinese spouses sparks debate

Bill seeks to shorten time needed to become naturalised Taiwanese from six years to four

- Yip Wai Yee

As a resident originally from China, Ms Huang Qiufen said she has experienced her fair share of discrimination living in Taiwan.

This is despite the fact that the 47-year-old social worker, who has since become a naturalised Taiwanese, has been living in the Taiwan-controlled outpost of Kinmen for nearly 20 years and feels "at home" here.

"It hurts when the Taiwanese see us as outsiders," the mother of three told The Sunday Times from her adopted home of Kinmen, an archipelago just off the coast of China's Fujian province.

"Whenever there's a negative story on social media, the Taiwanese always make comments like, 'Someone from China must have been involved', which I think is very unfair," added Ms Huang, who moved from her Fujian home town of Zhangzhou city to Kinmen in 2006 when she married a Taiwanese.

In particular, Taiwan's differing naturalisation rules for spouses from China and those from other countries reflect such discrimination, she said.

The issue has been in the spotlight recently, after Taiwan's main opposition party, the Kuomintang (KMT), proposed a Bill on Feb 28 to shorten the time needed for Chinese spouses to become naturalised Taiwanese from six years to four years.

If the Bill is passed, that would make the minimum waiting time the same as that for spouses hailing from other countries.

The KMT, which is traditionally more Beijing-friendly, has said that the proposal reflects Taiwan's democratic spirit and that all new residents on the island should be treated equally.

The smaller Taiwan People's Party (TPP) has also said that it would support the Bill as the island is a "society of immigrants", and that as long as one lives in Taiwan and identifies as Taiwanese, then one should be considered as such.

According to statistics from Taiwan's National Immigration Agency, Chinese spouses account for around 60 per cent of all foreignborn spouses in Taiwan.