00:00An upcoming change to Taiwan's cross-strait law will tighten the requirements for Chinese people married to Taiwanese citizens to settle permanently in Taiwan.
00:09Commonly known as Chinese spouses, there are over 360,000 of these individuals in Taiwan.
00:15Previously, to settle in Taiwan and to get a national ID card, passport, and to be afforded all the rights of a citizen,
00:21the law said they needed to give up their original household registration in China.
00:25Soon, they will also have to submit proof of having gotten rid of their Chinese passport when a new draft amendment by the Ministry of Interior goes into effect.
00:34Experts say the change is to clarify language in the law that allowed some to take advantage of loopholes.
00:55The change in rules is part of a larger plan introduced earlier this year by Taiwan President Lai Qingde to counter Chinese influence and security threats in Taiwan.
01:12Specifically, he said, to prevent Beijing from creating confusion over Taiwanese people's national identity.
01:17The amendment has also set off some back-and-forth across the strait this week, with China's Taiwan Affairs Office criticizing it
01:24and warning Chinese people against damaging their Chinese passports in order to try to comply with the rule.
01:37But Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council responded that it would not compromise on the law,
01:42while the semi-official Straits Exchange Foundation says the amendment is about taking precautions.
01:47We know that the instructions and international teams are the ones that represent which one country is worthy of.
01:52The situation between China and Taiwan is the same with all countries.
01:59If a country must be the ones that are the ones that are the ones that are the ones that are the ones that are the ones that are the ones that represent the country,
02:04especially if you have to face a serious threat against the country,
02:09another country that is an alternative country.
02:14Taiwan's interior ministry has also proposed an amendment that would make it harder for
02:22Taiwanese people who lost their legal status because of having a Chinese ID card to regain
02:27their Taiwanese citizenship. That would include things like proving they'd made significant
02:31contributions to Taiwan and that they hadn't been involved in Chinese political propaganda.
02:36These amendments, part of steps the government says, will counter intensifying Chinese infiltration
02:41in Taiwan. Hank Xu and Cadence Granta for Taiwan Plus.
Comments