Mainland Spouses Will Command 3-5% of the Vote

Mainland Spouses Will Command 3-5% of the Vote
United Daily News editorial (Taipei, Taiwan, ROC)
A Translation
May 5, 2009

The Legislative Yuan is amending the "Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area." Mainland spouses' political status, right to work, and right to property will be expanded. If 260,000 Mainland spouses acquire citizenship, they along with their spouses and relatives on Taiwan will become a social group that can no longer be ignored. During national elections they will constitute 3-5 percent of the vote. Given this trend, politicians can no longer discriminate on the basis of political ideology. The public should also toss such demeaning terms as "Mainland sister" into the dustbin.

The amending of Mainland spouses' rights is essential if we wish to respect human rights. It is also essential to cross-Strait interaction. Over the past decade, under the influence of "nativization," society on Taiwan has been slow to accept foreign spouses. The DPP is also strategically "anti-China." Mainland spouses are the most severely discriminated against members among the new wave of immigrants. [Translator's Note: Strictly speaking, Chinese citizens who move from the Mainland to Taiwan are not "immigrants." They are merely Chinese citizens who have changed their residency.] The obstacles in the way of Mainland spouses obtaining work permits, owning property, and acquiring ID cards are greater than for other foreign spouses. Mainland spouses are tantamount to "Third-Class Citizens."

Our government prides itself on its democracy. Yet it classifies and treats people differently according to their identity. This is flagrant discrimination. Unfortunately the Democratic Progressive Party, which boasts that it champions "human rights," is also the mastermind of this discriminatory policy. The amended law will return only a few of the rights Mainland spouses were deprived of previously. Strictly speaking, their status has not really been upgraded. For example, in the past Mainland spouses had to wait eight long years go obtain an identity card. This has now been reduced to six. But it is still not comparable to foreign spouses in general, who need only wait four.

The Democratic Progressive Party contradicts its own rhetoric. It attempts to distort society to justify Taiwan independence. The DPP's supreme value is Taiwan independence. To achieve it, the DPP must violate human rights and oppresses other social and ethnic groups. The DPP's "Us vs. Them" mentality trumps all. This has led to partisan chaos, and worse, injected a deadly toxin into our society.

When the law was being amended, DPP Legislator Chiu Yi-ying actually said "The streets are swarming with the spawn of Mainlanders. Very scary." Ong Ching-chu said they would deprive "Taiwanese" of job opportunities. In their eyes, even if a Mainland spouse has acquired a Republic of China identity card entirely in accordance with the law, he or she still does not qualify as a "citizen of Taiwan." In Ong Ching-chu's eyes, it makes no difference whether a Mainland spouse is unemployed. But a "Taiwanese" must not be unemployed. In Chiu Yi-ying's eyes, as long as a child's mother is a Mainlander, then that child is "very scary." The fathers of these children may be bona fide Taiwanese, but she still considers them the Spawn of the Enemy.

Over the past year cross-Strait relations have undergone positive changes. But viewed from the context of the past six decades, such a minor shift is merely one step amidst countless advances and retreats. Today when we refer to "Mainland spouses," the "Mainlanders" who arrived on Taiwan in 1949 have apparently become "Taiwanese." And if we turn the clock even further back, weren't Chiu Yi-ying and Ong Ching-chu's male ancestors bachelors "fresh off the boat" from "Tangshan?"

Mainland spouses currently number 260,000. That number will increase. If they obtain full Republic of China citizenship, they will constitute over one percent of the population. They could have a direct impact on elections as high as 3-5 percentage points. If the total turnout is 80%, each percentage point is about 130,000 votes. The voting strength of Mainland spouses and their relatives will be considerable. How can we ignore the existence of such a large demographic? How can we oppress them? From the perspective of elections alone, no political party can afford to ignore these new voters. In fact, three years ago the number of Mainland spouses and foreign spouses exceeded the number of Aborigines. It is now the fourth largest social or ethnic group on Taiwan. Unless we impose a total ban on Mainland spouses, or deny them full political status, they are bound to change the demographics of the island. Those who hope to distort this social reality will lose their chance six to eight years from now.

The Fan Lan-qin incident reflected the anxieties felt by different social and ethnic groups on Taiwan. Actually the most serious social and ethnic problem on Taiwan is not bigoted exchanges about "Tai Ba Zhi" or "High-Class Mainlanders." It is Mainland spouses and foreign spouses who have no political voice.

Attempts to deal with social and ethnic problems on Taiwan have failed. This has led to the bitter divisions in today's society. Today the problem of Mainland spouses and foreign spouses has intensified. We must not backslide. As we amend the law and restore the rights of Mainland and foreign spouses, political parties must realize that society on Taiwan will be different tomorrow, Therefore they must treat these new members of our society in a civilized, equitable, and open manner.

陸配夫妻將有三至五個百分點的投票實力
【聯合報╱社論】
2009.05.04 03:15 am

立法院修正兩岸人民關係條例，大陸配偶身分權、工作權和財產權均將放寬。廿六萬陸配若遲早會陸續取得公民資格，加上其配偶及在台親屬，將成為社會結構中不容忽視的一群，在全國選舉中亦將有三至五個百分點的投票實力。面對此一趨勢，政治人物不能昧於形勢再刻意歧視，民眾也該把「大陸妹」這類名詞丟進垃圾箱了。

陸配權益獲得放寬，本是回歸人權原則的必要修正，更是兩岸互動之勢所必然。十幾年來，在「本土化」政策的影響下，台灣社會對外籍配偶的接納一直相當遲緩；再加上民進黨戰略性的「反中」，陸配更成為這波新移民中最受歧視的一群。不論工作、財產、身分的取得，陸配都較其他外籍配偶來得嚴苛且漫長，形同台灣的「三等公民」。

在一個自詡民主的國家，卻依身分將人民分等級，對人民的權益作區別待遇，這當然是赤裸裸的歧視。遺憾的是，喜歡唱「人權」高調的民進黨，卻也正是此一歧視政策的主控者。這次修法，雖將陸配過去被剝奪及侵壓的權益稍作回復，其實仍談不上提升；只消看，過去陸配要八年的漫長等待才能取得身分證，如今縮短為六年，比起一般外籍配偶之只需四年仍有差別待遇。

民進黨的矛盾，在欲扭曲社會來維持其台獨主張。在台獨至上的前提下，必須違反人權打壓不同族群。如此無限上綱的敵我意識，不僅導致政黨的價值錯亂，更將敵意的毒素注入了民間。

且看這次修法過程，綠營立委邱議瑩竟說：「滿街都是大陸之子，很可怕。」翁金珠則認為，這將排擠台灣人的工作機會。以她們二人的政治認知，陸配就算依法取得了台灣身分證，也仍不配稱為台灣公民吧！在翁金珠眼裡，似乎陸配沒有工作沒關係；陸配可以失業，但「台灣人」不能失業。在邱議瑩眼裡，孩子的母親只要是大陸人，都會「很可怕」；但這些孩子的父親皆是正港台灣人，她卻視之為敵人之子？

近一年，兩岸關係有了相對善意的變化；但如果放在過去六十年的脈絡裡看，這樣的推移，也是在進進退退之間才走到這一步。當今天我們提到「陸配」時，四九年來台的「外省人」似乎皆已變成了「台灣人」；再往前看，如翁金珠和邱議瑩的先祖，不也是早年「唐山」渡海來台的羅漢腳嗎？

目前廿六萬陸配的數字仍將持續增加，若悉數取得台灣公民資格，已超過總人口一個百分點，他們所能直接牽動的投票意向，亦可能高達三至五個百分點。倘若以總投票率八成，每個百分點約十三萬票計，則陸配及其關係人的投票實力更可從高估計。這麼大的族群，台灣如何可能一再漠視或壓抑他們的存在？即使只問民主選舉的運作，恐怕任何政黨也不能再輕視或漠視這些新選民。事實上，包括陸配和外配在內的新移民，三年前人數即已超越原住民，成為台灣第四大族群。除非完全禁止或在法理上根本不承認陸配或外配，這是台灣必然要面對的人口結構變遷；想要扭曲此一現實的人，不論拖八年或六年，恐怕終將失去對潮流的掌握。

稍早的范蘭欽事件，反映出台灣社會的族群焦慮，事實上，台灣社會最嚴重的族群問題並不在相互戲謔的「台巴子」或「高級外省人」身上，而在那些根本發不出聲音的陸配和外配身上。

台灣在處理族群問題上，可謂相當失敗，造成今日社會的慘痛分裂。如今面對陸配及外配問題已見升高，不可再蹈覆車之轍。因此，在修法還給陸配公民地位之際，所有的政黨皆應意識到未來台灣社會已然不同，並以文明、平等、開放的態度來面對這些新加入者。