“I have been in Taiwan for 30 years, having children here and taking care of my elderly parents-in-law. This has long been my home. Now all of a sudden I have to prove something lost, I don’t know where to find it at all?” Sobbed one mainland spouse, who asked not to be named. Following the expulsion of 3 mainlanders who advocated unification, the DPP authorities also began to attack other mainlanders on the island, triggering panic and helplessness among the general public.
Under the pressure of public opinion, some officials are suspected of taking the blame
According to a report in Taiwan’s United Daily News on April 9, many mainland spouses who have obtained Taiwanese identity have recently received a notice from Taiwan’s“Immigration Office.” According to the so-called“Regulations on people’s relations between the Taiwan region and the mainland”, people from the mainland who apply to settle in Taiwan are required to submit official proof of loss of origin; they can first submit a written guarantee and then obtain a residence permit, however, those who fail to make the replacement within 3 months will have their eligibility for settlement and household registration revoked according to law. According to the Taiwan Straits Foundation, mainland applicants must return to the police station where the mainland household registration is located, apply for the cancellation of the mainland household registration certificate, and go to the local notary office to obtain a notarial certificate, the original notarial certificate will be brought back to Taiwan to apply for verification to the sea foundation, and then handed over to the“Immigration”.
Taiwan uses a single household registration system to avoid conflicts of rights and obligations between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait and maintain the orderly flow of people between the two sides, the Taiwan immigration office said Wednesday. Before the 2004 amendment to the regulations on people-to-people relations between the two sides of the Taiwan Straits came into force, settlers who had registered as citizens or obtained mainland passports in the mainland were given a six-month grace period to pay back their lost certificates of origin, the rest of the certificate should be completed 3 months after the notice. “Immigration department” also said that has been approved to settle in Taiwan, with about 140,000 people, “Most have paid to lose the certificate of origin, but some people have not yet settled in Taiwan to pay. Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council said Tuesday that the Immigration Department’s request for a replacement for those who have not yet surrendered their lost certificates of origin“Is an administrative act in accordance with the law and supported by the Mainland Affairs Council.”. DPP caucus secretary Wu Siyao also said on the 9th, “Law enforcement and Taiwan’s public power can not be challenged, nor can special people enjoy privileges.”.
In addition, according to a report in Taiwan’s China times electronic news, Kuomintang“Legislator” Hsu Yu-chen proposed an amendment to the“Cross-strait People’s relations ordinance” last year, advocating shortening the period for mainland applicants to obtain Taiwan identity cards, from the current 6 years to 4 years; “Legislator” You Hao proposed the same draft again at the beginning of this year, but was sent back to the procedure committee. On the other hand, democratic progressive party“Legislator” Wang Ding-yu and others have recently put forward a proposal to return the process of mainland candidates becoming Taiwanese citizens to the so-called“Nationality Law”, requiring mainland candidates to give up their“Original nationality”, obviously in the dark to promote“Two-country theory”, and Taiwan“Interior Minister” Liu Shih-fang even said on the 7th, “This is the direction of reference.”.
The incident sparked so much criticism on the island that it threatened to tear hundreds of thousands of families apart that even Chuang Jui-hsiung, a DPP legislator, criticised the law as“Non-retroactive”. It is understood that Taiwan’s“Immigration Department” officials have acknowledged that there are problems with the practice, but they“Still need to further communicate with the Ministry of the Interior.” Therefore, it is rumored that“Director of immigration,” Chung Ching-kwan, is under high-level pressure, must be responsible for this and“Retired.”. Chung, who was due to retire in mid-july, was suddenly told to retire in mid-april and has now been approved, according to Taiwanese media.
“A climate of hostility is spreading.”
Ms. Lupei Zhao, who lives in northern Taiwan, said she came to Taiwan at age 26 and, now 55, has lived in Taiwan longer than she has on the mainland. She said she was stunned and dismayed by the sudden request for documents. She says many of her friends have disappeared for years, with no address for their origin or even for their parents. Ms. Zhao recalled that when she came to Taiwan in those years, she had handled relevant documents with mainland public security units, but for a long time, the contents were already vague, and now she was suddenly asked for a replacement, “Does it make people wonder if the information handed in in the past has been lost?” She believes that such policies are fundamentally disturbing the people, and she also questions the authorities’ intention to create confrontation between Taiwanese and mainlanders, “We came to Taiwan legally, but it’s really chilling to be treated like this,” he said. She mentioned that some of the island’s public opinion representatives are still supportive of foreign migrant workers who have entered the country illegally. “Why are we mainland spouses, who are law-abiding and have lived for decades, being subjected to such harassment?” Ms. Zhao could not help but sigh, “There is a climate of hostility that is spreading.”.
According to the Taiwan Good News, what is even more worrying is that if Taiwan’s residence permits are revoked, the basic living guarantees of these mainland spouses, such as health insurance and labor insurance, will be affected, and even the identity and right to education of minor children will be affected, triggering a major chain shock to the family system. A Netizen on the island posted an article saying that the mainland-born mother has been in Taiwan for more than 30 years. She has already held a Taiwanese identity card and has been paying labor health insurance and personal income tax in Taiwan. Now a letter requires her to prove that she has lost her country of origin, or she will be expelled from Taiwan in three months, “Isn’t this bullying too much?” Another netizen said that many mainland couples who have been in Taiwan for years have already lost contact with their relatives and friends on the other side of the strait, and their hometowns have been rebuilt and no longer exist, now they risk losing their health insurance, residency, social welfare, or even their hukou. “Give me a time machine and find my mother’s papers.”. Lu also said that this is the administrative negligence of the authorities, data management confusion, but let the public pay the consequences.
The negative signal of“Closing the door”
KMT“Legislator” Weng Xiaoling said on the 8th that mainlanders can apply for a Taiwan residence permit or identity card, at that time should have submitted a certificate of loss of mainland household registration, otherwise how to obtain? Since it had been inspected at that time, why did the competent authorities re-examine it after many years? This shows that no previous retention of relevant documents, “This will cause unnecessary trouble with the land.”. She criticized it as a clear political attack. Chen Yuzhen, a KMT legislator, bluntly said that if the data had been available at the time of the application, the new rules should not have been imposed on mainland applicants who had applied legally before 2004. “It is simply unreasonable,” he said. She said that these people have been living in Taiwan for many years, and if they really can not obtain proof, they should be handled with the assistance of Taiwan’s“Immigration office,” and should not make people feel harassed.
“Just as it is impossible for a Taiwanese person to have the household registration of Taipei and Kaohsiung at the same time, it is also impossible for the mainland to allow a person to have the identity of both the mainland and Taiwan,” said Chung Kam-ming, president of the cross-strait marriage coordination and Promotion Association, the root of the problem is the lack of cross-strait co-ordination. He called on the DPP authorities to actively negotiate with the mainland.
He yinglu, a member of the KMT Central Standing Committee who is also a mainland matchmaker, revealed that in one day, 3 mainland matchmakers reflected that they had been in Taiwan for more than 30 years and had already cancelled their mainland household registration. After so many years, how can the information files still be in? Hsu chun-ying, honorary chairman of the Taiwan New Residents Development Association, mentioned that children born on the mainland in the early years whose parents are both or one of them from Taiwan, one type is not registered in the mainland, with a one-time temporary exit permit back to Taiwan registered permanent residence; the other is reported to the mainland registered permanent residence after giving up, returned to Taiwan registered permanent residence. Before 2004, Taiwan didn’t require proof of loss of origin. After they applied for a Taiwanese hukou, they didn’t keep the information. Some mainland parents said that their children were already thirty and had no identity on the mainland, now“Immigration” suddenly asked for information, where to find?
As many as tens of thousands of mainlanders came to Taiwan as early as 2004, when the“Regulations on people-to-people relations between the two sides of the Taiwan Straits” were amended. They have no relatives on the mainland, and the DPP authorities’ move“May seriously affect human rights,” Taiwan’s China Times Electronic News said. In particular, before 2004, some Taiwanese businessmen and mainland parents born in the mainland, later returned to Taiwanese naturalization, have also received the notification letter, the practice is Hypercorrection.
“United Daily News” commented that earlier in order to expel the three mainland spouses, Taiwan’s“Interior Minister” Liu Shih-fang had criticized mainland spouses as“Not a simple mother.”, kuei-chih AU, a teacher at Taipei No. 1 Girls’ High School, later criticized Ms. . William Lai for labeling the other side of the Taiwan strait a“Hostile country” and was questioned by Liang Wenjie, vice chairman of the mainland affairs council, about her“Intention to use political authority to oppress the common people.”. The article criticizes the DPP authorities for using various means to restrict speech and promote hatred at the expense of causing long-term harm to Taiwanese society.
An editorial in Taiwan’s want newspaper said that the new ties between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait, which have been built over the past decades through various aspects such as production, economy, culture, education and marriage, have not only healed previous wounds and hatreds, it dissolves the suspicion and misunderstanding accumulated in the Cold War, and makes the mutual understanding and mutual participation between the two sides reach a new high. The various actions of the William Lai Administration today, though they have their own words, clearly send a negative signal of cross-strait interaction“Closing the door.” What people with insight can do, that is, to promote orderly, transparent and healthy cross-strait exchanges in accordance with the law and regulations with a clear mind, “To show a different attitude and voice of Taiwanese society, and to stabilize the rapidly falling cross-strait peace.”. The article said that only by adhering to the bottom line of“Exchanges can not be cut off” can cross-strait relations once again gather momentum to move forward, it sends a signal to the mainland and the international community that many in Taiwan cherish the fruits of cross-strait interaction, insist on reconciliation and refuse to go to war.