Taiwan tightens rules on Chinese-born spouses amid loyalty concerns and alleged bias

Taiwan’s roughly 369,000 mainland spouses are facing intensified scrutiny over loyalty as Beijing’s military pressure rises. Li Chen-hsiu, who entered the legislature through the Taiwan People’s Party, was forced out after officials said she had not demonstrated a ten-year single nationality, despite her claim of Taiwanese citizenship since 1999. The government has also ordered 12,000 naturalized spouses to prove they cancelled Chinese household registrations, and recently deported three pro-reunification activists.

A New Taipei court convicted Hsu Chun-ying of espionage for China, handing down a seven-year sentence. Scholars such as Bruce Liao argue the law is being applied unevenly, while security experts like Yen-Tu Su defend the measures as necessary. Individual stories, like 72-year-old Mi Zhengrong’s struggle for a pension after her husband’s death, illustrate the personal impact of the policy shift.