研究ノート

Reading Marriage Immigration Issue in Taiwan:
From the Perspective of CitizenshipWeiling SU

In the past two decades, the surging number of marriage immigrants has
shaped Taiwan government’s policy making, specifically the amendment of
Nationality Act and Immigration Act as well as the redefining the social role of NGOs
to be brought to the center stage of society. In Taiwan, although government
has forbidden the “bride to order” advertisement since 2009, the images ofmercenary marriage and labor in marriage are still vivid to the public. In thisarticle, I would like to argue that Taiwan government’s policy on marriage
immigrants reconstructs the imbalanced power relationship and inequality
between sexes, ethnic groups as well as stereotyping women as the appendant
and the be-ruled of patriarchal domination in the family and society for thesake of maintaining the social classification and biological function. This article
focuses on examining the transformation of marriage migration policy from theperspectives of citizenship and structural violence by means of investigating
the official data and using the information gathered during the conducting ofinterviews with marriage immigrants in 2014 and with NGOs in 2015.

Ⅰ．Historical Background and Global Context
According to the United Nation’s report on migration, International Migration
Report 2013, the number of international migration rose over 50 percent from1990 to 2013 and a remarkable growth occurred between 2000 and 2010.
Consistently, the number of marriage immigrants in Taiwan reached its peakin 2003 and most of them are from China and Southeast Asia, especially from
Vietnam. The United Nation’s report mainly focuses on the three categories
of international migrants: refugees, migrant worker as well as smuggling andtrafficking. It is noteworthy that the case of marriage immigrants is neglected161

研究ノートin the discussion of international migration.
In the era of globalization, marriage immigrants is a new way of linkage
among countries. Marriage immigrants could be differentiated in manydifferent types and mobilize in various ways. Previous researches of marriage
immigrants are mainly focused on marriage immigrant couples who migrant ina family unit whose difficulties are the transformation of citizenship from equal
to unequal within an intimate partnership. According to Lucy Williams’ Global
Marriage: Cross-Border Marriage Migration in Global Context:“Migration is often an option for the less-privileged who, even if
they never migrant themselves,...... The poor may now be the mostfrequent migrants across the world as well as within the boundaries,
as in economically less developed and unstable parts of the world,
governments as much as individuals recognize migration as a means ofmaximizing the economic value of people. Migration, in many parts of
the world, has become a national as well as an individual strategy.” (p. 3)
It is quite different from the marriage immigrants from China and Southeast
Asia in Taiwan. Surprisingly, although Taiwanese people are a combinationof migrants since early 17th century, Taiwan society seems to be stricter thanever with the marriage immigrants from China and Southeast Asia, especiallythe examination of their loyalty toward marriage and moral value by meansof taking interview on the nation border and later interviewing them again indomestic.
Undoubtedly, Taiwan is a migrant society; except the aboriginal whose
activities could be dated back to 15,000 years ago, all the other ethnic groups
are the immigrants who came to Taiwan mainly in 17th, 19th and early 20th
century after World War II. In 1987, Taiwan opened the door to China bypermitting the veterans to visit their relatives in China after the 38-year cold
war between Kuomintang (KMT, the first political party founded in 1894 under
the ruling of Qing dynasty) and China. Since the open of visiting China, many
single veterans coming back with comparatively young Chinese females whichis the early image of marriage immigrants in Taiwan.
On the other hand, with the sharp economic development and politicaltransformation in the 1980s, Taiwan is one of the new destinations for foreign

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Reading Marriage Immigration Issue in Taiwan

labor from Southeast Asia. Since the early 1990s, numerous advertisementsof transnational marriage merchandising/ matchmaking could easily be seenon the roadside in rural area and counties (as the illustrated photo). The
advertisements were set up by the matchmaker who provides “warranty”
for the bride’s virginity as well as “refundable policy” and “indemnifying
measures” if the bride runs away fromthe marriage. Because of the stereotyped
imagination toward Vietnamese lady, theextreme number of Vietnamese marriage
immigrants from other countries is obvious
to be noted; from 2005 to 2014, 65,549
marriage immigrants came from Vietnam
to 10,221 marriage immigrants came fromIndonesia which occupies the second placeof the statistic. (Department of Household
Registration, R.O.C (Taiwan), Jan 7th, 2015)
The complicated historical context constructs the incomparable circumstanceand condition for marriage immigrants in the island. Due to Taiwan’s
ambiguous relationship with China, the government established two different
migration policies toward marriage immigrants from China and Southeast Asia
as two separate groups. In previous research, not only the juridical realm but
also academia in Taiwan used to examine groups separated as indicators for
Taiwan and China who share the similar cultural context. As mentioned, thenumber of marriage immigrants from China and Southeast Asia reached its
peak in 2003 and then the number has been decreasing since then. Based on
the official data, we could date back the number of marriage immigrants from
China to year of 1998; on the other side, the starting year of official data forfrom Southeast Asian’s could only be dated back to 2001. (Table 1.)163

研究ノートTable 1. Numbers of Newly-wed of the Years (Sorted by Nationality)

Source: Department of Household Registration, R.O.C (Taiwan) Sep 12, 2015.

Referring to Table 1, it was obvious to note the great disparity between
female and male non-native newly-wed in Taiwan since 1998. The main force ofimmigrants in Taiwan was the Asia-Asia immigration which is compatible with
UN’s report on international migration in the year of 2013: “During the period
2000-2010, the Asia-Asia corridor grew by an average of 1.5 million internationalmigrants per year; a figure which fell to 0.8 million during the period 2010-2013”.
(International Migrant Report, p.3). In Taiwan’s case, the rate of non-native male
newly-wed was 1.58% and of non-native female newly-wed was 14.10% in 1998.
In 2001, the first year of separated statistical data, the rate of non-native male
newly-wed from Mainland China was 0.48% and from Southeast Asia was 0.47%.
Regarding to the rate of non-native females in 2001, the number from Mainland
China was 15.06% and reached its peak of 18.44% in 2003. On the other side, in
2001, the rate of non-native female newly-wed from Southeast Asia was 9.79%
and it reached the peak of 13.07% in year 2004. The yearly percentage of newlyborn second generation of Southeast Asian mother reached its peak in 2004,
7.97%, and 2.43% in 2014; on the other hand, the number of second generation ofChinese mother reached its peak in 2004 as 5.15% and decreased yearly to 3.79%
in 2014. (Dept. of Household Registration, MOI. R.O.C Taiwan) The decrease
represents Taiwan’s economic situation and the changing of immigrant policy
brought to the population.

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It is noteworthy that marriage gradient is not a new story to the island.
In 1960s and 1970s, the veterans who came to Taiwan in 1949 married thecomparatively young aboriginal female for taking their steady financial condition
as the advantage in the marriage market which was the typical representationin Taiwan society. Yet marriage immigrants as the main force of the migrant
since late 1980s is the first time to Taiwan society after modernization; how ourgovernment and public tackles the issue is the new task to Taiwan.

Ⅱ．Citizenship: Structural Exclusion
After the reissue of Immigrant Act in 2008, the former match makers which
had registered as a company have been transformed into the welfarebased NGO. Among the regulations, Article 58 is the most decisive one
which changed the way of match-making business in Taiwan. According
to Article 58, “Transnational marriage match shall not be an operating
item. Transnational marriage agencies shall not demand remunerations orcontractual remunerations. No person shall disseminate, broadcast or publish
advertisements of transnational marriage agencies through advertising,publication, broadcast, television, electronic signaling, internet or other meansthat can make the advertisements publicly known.” (Immigrant Act of R.O.C).
Therefore, until Sept 1st, 2015, there are 42 legal welfare-based agencies who
work under the regulation.
After reading Taiwan government’s policy on immigrant issue and discourse,
there is sufficient evidence to reveal that “leave problems beyond the border”
is Taiwan government’s principle for marriage immigrant issue undoubtedly.
Many of researchers considered Taiwan government transformed their attitude
from “exclusionary” to “inclusionary”; according to Hong-Zen Wang and Danièle
Bélanger’s article, “Taiwanizing Female Immigrant Spouses and Materializing
Differential Citizenship”, they write “The government is concerned withits ‘population quality’, but, due to increase social pressure, the Taiwanese
government changed its exclusionary policy towards immigrant spouses to an
official ‘inclusionary’ one after 2002 ” (Wang, p.94); moreover, in Pei-Chia Lan’s article, “Migrant Women’s Bodies as Boundary Marker: Reproductive Crisisand Sexual Control in the Ethnic Frontiers of Taiwan”, she explained how
the inclusionary is somehow the exclusionary and manipulation by means of165

研究ノートcontrolling through system and regulation. She writes, “Facing an expanding
foreign-born population, Taiwan’s government has shifted its policy agenda fromborder control and exclusion to inclusive governance by structuring citizenshipand incorporation in a hierarchical way.”(Lan, p.838) In accordance with Report ofInternational Marriage Affair Management and Review in 2012 of The Control Yuan, thebranch government which has the power to audit and correct other ministry,“the interview and inspection on the nation border is a way to prevent
crime in domestic...... for controlling the problem of trafficking andfake marriage but not to harm the marriage immigrants with thegovernment’s visiting inspection at home, National Immigration Agency
should cooperate with the New Immigrant Service Center and social
workers to visit and inspect with flexibility; by means of the cooperative
way of visit, it could not only give care to marriage immigrants but also
inspect if there is any fake or illegal in fact.” (p.3)
Apparently, the justice turns out to be a superficial justice, a justice bubble.
Taiwan government’s change on immigrant policy is nevertheless for the
purpose of controlling. The controlling of filtering who is the ideal immigrantcandidate to Taiwan and if they qualified to meet its picture of real marriage.
In the same report by The Control Yuan, it declares in details of how theinterview is conducted and the different standard for the interviewee withdifferent property,“Qualified applicant could conduct the simplified interview without investing
recording in written way, tape and image video recording…first, raising
natural children or the children who are adopted by the couple together.
Second, both of the husband and wife are white collar; for the marriage
immigrants has already registered household in Taiwan, then one of thecouple is white collar would be qualified. Third, both of the couple lives in
Taiwan for over two year and who have never violate the regulation before.
Fourth, to prove living in the same place for over a year. Fifth, prove tolive with family members for over a year. Sixth, marriage immigrants who
passed the visiting inspection before. Seventh, clear in records for who
arrived Taiwan in other status before marrying Taiwanese” (p. 51).

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In name of protection and social security, Taiwanese government labels
people with the enforcing imagination of happy marriage: middle class withcapital and lives with family. It not only denies the value of equal but also
breaks the formation of nuclear family. Marriage immigrant is therefore not
only the accessory of the spouse but also the appendage of the family.
It is convincing that Taiwan government’s attitude is still an exclusionary
one. In recent years, Taiwan’s government notices the Southeast Asia
countries, such as Vietnam and Cambodia would be the new field for Taiwan’s manufacture and mechanical industry; therefore the Taiwanese government
have been carrying out a policy of nourishing the second generation whose
mother language is the local language to be the future force in the industry.
The government suddenly promotes and encourages the second generation
should learn their mother language and one day they could be sent to thosecountries for Taiwan’s own economy purpose. Obviously, the bodies of second
generation then become the object and the excluded tool for manipulation andgovernance. Under the government policy, they are the permanent outsider
in the visible future. For instance, on the website of Vocational Center of New
Taipei City, the lessons provided for marriage immigrant and aborigine, theethnic group which has been excluded, is the same, such as cook, care takerand couturier. The lessons are different from the other lessons, computer
software, digital graphic and interior design, which provide for other groups
as teenager and general population. We could read the message of Taiwan
government from the instance above: marriage immigrants are categorized in
the same with aborigines who is the cultural, political minority who has been
culturally exploiting and excluded from Taiwan society for long. Under the
manipulation of Taiwan government’s immigrant policy, marriage immigrants
and the second generations are the Other and the object to be excluded andplayed with structural violence.
Echoing Pei-cha Lan mentioned in the article, Taiwan’s immigrant policy
is “...the strategies of intervention conducted by the state in alliance with
employers, brokers and husband’s family.” (p. 836) Taiwan government’s
policies reinforce and reconstruct its role as structural violence which resort
to welfare-based NGOs, marriage immigrants and Taiwanese male who havethe intention to get married by way of match-making comprehensively. As

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研究ノートthe definition Johan Galtung made in his article, Violence, Peace and Peach
Research in Journal of Peace Research, (Vol 6, No.3, 1969; p. 167-191), “Violence
without the relation, subject violence to object, is the structural violence whichbuilt into structure” (Galtung p.171). Structural violence is the violence builtwith the structure, law system, and administrative system…etc. Among all thecontrolling and manipulation, Nationality Act represents the extreme dominationof national mechanism. Therefore, the structural violence was constructed.
Nationality Act is the law for of Republic of China (R.O.C, Taiwan) firstly
issued in 1929 before R.O.C’s moving to Taiwan in year of 1949 which wasnever amended until 2000. Moreover, Immigration Act is first issued in 1999 andamended for times. In the revised version 2013 of Flowchart for the Application for
Naturalization in Marriages between Foreign Nationals and R.O.C. Citizens and Household
Registration, marriage immigrants from China have to take at least six years
which was shortened from eight years in 2009 and the other foreign marriage
immigrants have to take at least four years to apply for being official citizen
after fulfill all the requirement. For example, the other foreign marriage
immigrants have to apply as the citizen candidate with more than three yearsof legal residence and at least 183 days per year from the day of application.
Next, applicants have to reside for a certain period of time: for one year
without departure from the day of naturalization; for two years and more than
270 days per year; for five years and more than 183 days per year to apply forpermanent residency. Then after meeting all the requirement, the applicant
is qualified to apply for National ID Card, a card which is recorded with thename, birth date, serial number, parents and spouse name, army services. On
the other hand, in the case of Chinese marriage immigrants, in regardless of thelimitation of application as 15,000 cases per year, the citizen candidate have toapply with more than 4 years of legal residence and at least 183 days per year
from the day of application; then to apply for the permanent residency with twoyears and more than 183 days per year. In addition, Taiwan government adopts
the protectionist policy toward the marriage immigrants from China with thecase-applying limitation and more strict regulation than from other countries.
“In the first six months before I applied for the extension of stay, the police officer of ourneighborhood came to visit to make sure you live in the place as recorded and the marriage
is not a fake one…It’s the disadvantage for me that I didn’t give birth for my husband and168

Reading Marriage Immigration Issue in Taiwan

this was that they said to me during the interrogation for applying the ID. ”—Mrs. L, from China. Age 43“It’s not fair. Our law for Chinese marriage immigrants is the best presentation of violating
human rights.”—Mr. H, the spouse of Chinese immigrant. Age 47
Citizenship is the concept to protect the basic human rights and equality
under the law, “Citizenship is commonly portrayed as the most desired ofconditions: as the highest fulfillment of democratic and egalitarian aspiration”(Williams, p.127) According to the classics, Citizenship and Social Class andother Essays by T.H. Marshall,“The civil element is composed of the rights necessary for individual
freedom—liberty of the person, freedom of speech, thought and faith,
the right to own property and to conclude valid contracts, and the rightto justice...political element... the right to participate in the exercise ofpolitical power, as a member of a body invested with political authority
or as an elector of the members of such a body...By the social element, I
mean the whole range from the right to a modicum of economic welfare
and security to the right to share to the full in the social heritage and tolive the life of a civilized being according to the standards prevailing insociety.” (Marshall p.10-11)
According to Lucy Williams addressed in her book, Global Marriage: Crossborder Marriage Migration in Global Context, “Thus, cross-border marriage migrants
experience a loss of formal citizenship status and restrictions on their rights
in their country of settlement. Their status as a spouse and a dependent is theirdefining characteristic in the eyes of the states and their rights as individual
are understood through their social status as wife, husband or partner.”(p.5-6)
From the perspective of citizenship, marriage immigrants are unable to possess
the full citizenship under governmental inspecting mechanism whenever theirmarriage is not qualified with the standard of happily ever after marriage.

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研究ノートⅢ．Citizenship: Family and Cultural Identity“I arrived Taiwan two years late after I got married. Because I didn’t pass the interview.
My husband answered my brother’s name wrong.”—Mrs. P, from Vietnam. Age 30“It’s my eleventh year in Taiwan. My husband died within three years after I am in
Taiwan. So I can’t apply for ID Card.”—Mrs. C, from Vietnam. Age 38
Due to the regulation of Immigration Act, Mrs. C was unable to apply for ID
card for her husband’s death within the first three year of their marriage;in other words, to Taiwan government, the time is too short to prove theauthenticity of their marriage and their relationship. After her husband’s death,
she was considered as the left appendage who is not qualified to obtain theright and to be protected by governmental with social citizenship. In Taiwan,
women’s pregnancy then become her ticket to obtain the full citizenship.
“Through child-bearing, a foreign spouse can win trust and by demonstrating
her commitment to this marriage and permanent immigration (Hsiao 1999). The
pressure for immigrant women to enter motherhood not only comes from thehusband’s family but also emerges as a result of state regulations Childbearing
can help them achieve residency or citizenship sooner.” (Lan p. 849) In this case,
Immigrant Act is the discipline and punishment to the women whose marriage is
not smooth going to enter motherhood as expected. Once they failed to satisfy
the expectation of being a tame and reproductive, marriage immigrants are
fail to obtain full citizenship, “As Antonia Chao (2004) has argued, women’s
reproductive duty stipulated in the sexual contract of marriage becomes tied tothe contract of citizenship governed by the politics of ethnonationalism.” (Lan p.
849)
Under the regulation of Immigrant Act, some families in demand to besupported by dual income were forced by Taiwanese government to be in theunsteady financial condition and even to be in poverty. In order to support thefamily, working illegally was one of the choices even taking the risk of being
repatriated for them. Though the law was amended in 2009, but during theclimax of urging increasing number of marriage immigrants, many families had

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been suffering the injustice and violence from the society and government. The
structural inequality forced marriage immigrants and the family to be trappedin the negative loop of poverty and the reproduction of social disadvantage.
Therefore, though marriage immigrants’ legal right of work after two year’s residence in Taiwan had been abolished, it is convincing that Taiwan
government’s policy did emphasize the conservative forces in the society andfamily: male have to take the burden of earning the bread for family, giving
birth is the proof of happy and real marriage as well as women could not decide
the way of their marriage, they do not have the right to be different and strange.
According to Marshall’s explanation, the equal right to have decent workand acceptable income for everyone are the basic understanding of social right;
apparently, Taiwan government’s policy on marriage immigrants brought out
the reproduction of disadvantage and inequality of the families and individuals
as the following mentioned. Among the 15 conducted interview with Chinese
marriage immigrants, the complaining of the obstructive policy is never stop.
Before the Act was amended in 2009, marriage immigrants were not allowed
to work, including both Chinese marriage immigrants and those from others
regions because government attempt to control and monitor. Reading the issue
from the perspective of citizenship, marriage immigrants’ demand of possessing
the full citizenship in Taiwan is neglected and oppressed by Taiwan’s law andmigration policy.
Moreover, although the reissue of the Act might bring some change tomarriage immigrants’ limited citizenship; yet not only in the juridical aspect
but also in the family aspect, the limited citizenship keeping treat themas the outsider of family. Based on the report on Vietnam’s economy andinvesting environment published in Mar 2014 made by Taipei Economic
and Cultural Office in Ho Chi Minh City, “Taiwan and Vietnam’s culture aresimilar, Taiwanese company could easily accept Vietnam’s culture and custom,
Vietnam’s culture and custom are similar to Taiwan’s; for example, theyalso celebrate Lunar New Year, Moon Festival as well as other festivals andholidays. Moreover, they also shares the same Chinese ideology, filial piety ( 孝道 )toward parents and elders as well as the ideology of family value.” (Part II, Sec.
I, Line 7; p.6) The quotation from the official report may be the best explanationof why Vietnamese women are the prior object for Taiwan marriage market as
Taiwanese people pass the stereotyped imagination, Vietnam and Taiwan share

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研究ノートthe similar culture and the value of family. Besides, as the extension of family
value, Vietnamese women are imagined as good and tame, the ideal character for
traditional Taiwanese value and expectation toward women in marriage.
Under Taiwan’s conservative idea of marriage, family tree is the tree ofpower hierarchy; being obedience is one of the required characteristic to carryout the mission of family. As Pei-Chia Lan declared in her article, Migrant Women’s
Bodies as Boundary Markers: Reproductive Crisis and Sexual Control in the Ethic Frontier of
Taiwan, “The positions of foreign maids and foreign brides do bear similarity
and affinity to each other on a structural level. Unpaid household labor andpaid domestic work are not dichotomous categories but constitute structuralcontinuities intimately tied to the feminization of reproductive labor across the
public and private spheres.”(p. 834) Marriage immigrants are then labeled as the
reproductive force in the family for continuing the family name, which is similar
to the foreign worker’s reproductive work in the industry. Obviously, Taiwan
government’s blindly claiming of the imposed imagination and simplificationof human character which is based on the economic and cultural arrogant are
the causes of the problems in international marriage and conflicts in Taiwan
society.
According to Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)’s report, The World
Factbook, Taiwan takes the top ninth place of low birth rate in the world;
crude birth rate as 9.10 per thousand people of Taiwan’s population (Dept. ofHousehold Registration Affairs, MOI. R.O.C (Taiwan) Jan 11th, 2016). The low
fertility rate brings some impact to the country. The anxiety of welfare systemand health insurance’s breaking down is keeping occupy mass media; as Liberty
Times’ report on Mar 23rd, 2015: “According to Ministry of Health and Welfare,since 2016, because of the population of affordable insured who is afford to
pay the insurance fee is decreasing, stagnated salary and aging population, therelatively increase of medical expenses is expected. As estimated, the finance of
health insurance would be a negative growth within three year.” Surprisingly,
there is the claim that government official made, “We should thank for theireffort to Taiwan’s fertility rate”; on the other hand, one of the legislators
claimed as “Marriage immigrants should give birth less, otherwise they will
lower down the citizen quality”; these statements force us to review the basic
question seriously: why do marriage and motherhood should be evaluated withadding value? How our government and public view this issue and marriage

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immigrants?
Taiwan government amended and enacted the relative laws in 2008, apply
in 2009 after its reaching peak in 2003; obviously, Taiwan government’s policy
is the representation and countermeasure toward the social issue. “Policy may
set the tone and represent the official line on how migrant interact with wider
society, but policy is always shaped by public attitudes and by how policies areoperationalized within society.”(Williams, p.163) The policy is the representationof how marriage was viewed through public’s eye: the property of the family
without individuality.
Though Taiwan is a democratic countries where the president is elected byevery citizen, we are used to be tamed by the image of the candidate’s sloganof CHANGE!; yet in Taiwan’s circumstance, what we have to keep in mind
is that Han ethnic group is the majority in population but every individual
could be the minority in every issue unexpectedly. An all-powerful, totalitarian
government would blind the public to ignore the injustice and social violence
which exercise in society, community and family: “Structural violence is silent,it does not show— it is essentially static ...In a static society, personal violence
will be registered, whereas structural violence may be seen as about as natural
as the air around us.” (Galtung p.173)

Ⅳ．Conclusion
Citizenship is a significant concept which helps to read migration issue andgovernment’s policy making in the globalization era especially. This article is
the window to view the situation of marriage immigrants in Taiwan; certainly,
through the lens of citizenship, it reveals the fact that marriage immigrants in
Taiwan have been living under the oppression of national mechanism. Moreover,political and historical factors drive the boat to unknowns. For Taiwan’s politicaltension with China, the ambiguity keeping effects government’s attitude
toward China government. Hence, Taiwan government adopts stricter way toinspect Chinese marriage immigrants, but also take the issue as the means of
diplomacy to keep the relationship with Chinese government who manipulates
Chinese ideology of marriage, maiden home, to influence Taiwan’s policy making.
Yet how about the Vietnam government? It is learned that marriage gradient,economy and power hierarchy are influential factors to Taiwan government’s

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研究ノートattitude.
Marriage immigration is no more a news in Taiwan; yet it is the issue andthe epitome of Taiwan society in the aspects of gender, social justice, welfare
system, education, economy, ideology and government’s role to individual.
Though Immigrant Act seem to be the great move to social justice and genderequality, it is still long way to go for government and public to realize social
justice and equality.

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Brubaker, Rogers. “Immigration, Citizenship, and the Nation-State in France and Germany:
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Farmer, Paul. “On Suffering and Structural Violence: A View From Below.” Race/Ethnicity:
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Galtung, Johan. “Violence, Peace and Peach Research.” Journal of Peach Research, Vol, 6. No.
3 (1969): 167-191. Accessed Aug 17, 2015.
Heater, Derek. What is Citizenship?. Cambridge: Polity Press: 1999.
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———Global Cinderllas: Migrat Domestics And Newly Rich Employers in Taiwan. Durhan: Duke Uni.
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“Low Fertility and Aging Population: Health Insurance Deficit After Three years” Liberty
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Republic of China (Taiwan). The Control Yuan. Report of International Marriage Affair Management
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Dec 2, 2015.

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研究ノートAbstract

Reading Marriage Immigration Issue in Taiwan:
from the Perspective of CitizenshipWeiling SU

According to United Nation’s report on migration, International Migration
Report 2013, the number of international migration rose over 50 percent from1990 to 2013 and a remarkable growth occurred in the between of 2000 and2010. Consistently, the number of marital immigrant in Taiwan reached its
peak in 2003 and most of them are from China and Southeast Asia, especiallyfrom Vietnam. The UN’s report mainly focuses on the three categories ofinternational migrants: refugees, migrant worker as well as smuggling andtrafficking. It’s noteworthy that the case of marital immigrant is neglected in
the discussion of international migration.
In Taiwan, though government had forbidden the “bride to order”
advertisement since 2009, the images of mercenary marriage and laborin marriage are still vivid to the public. Because of the unique historicalbackground, Taiwan government establishes two migration policy systems formarital immigrant from China and Southeast Asia separately. In the past two
decades, the urging number of marital immigrant enforces government’s policy
making and the amendment of Nationality Act.
In this article, the focus would be examining the transformation of marital
migration policy with the concept of citizenship. Hence, I would like tounderstand how the government sees the implications of international marriage
for Taiwanese family and marriage ethics through investigating the official data
and using the information gathered during the conducting of field study in 2014
and 2015.

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