TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A week after the deadline, 1,668 Chinese spouses have yet to submit proof they have renounced their Chinese household registration.
In April, the National Immigration Agency (NIA) notified 12,000 Chinese spouses to provide this documentation by June 30. A government official told Liberty Times that those still registered in China may be downgraded from “registered permanent resident” to “resident.”
The official said most of those unaccounted for are overseas. Many are "nationals without household registration" who have not returned to Taiwan in over two years and may be residing in China or abroad using Taiwanese passports.
The source said that holding both Taiwanese and Chinese nationalities poses a serious national security risk. If a person’s status is ambiguous, Taiwan cannot manage cross-strait population flows or verify whether someone is Taiwanese or Chinese.
He said the Mainland Affairs Council has frequently found Chinese nationals settled in Taiwan holding dual status, complicating personnel management. He likened China’s “integrated development policy” to Russia’s distribution of IDs in Crimea and eastern Ukraine to blur national identity before its invasion.
Chinese authorities are reportedly issuing large numbers of residence permits to Taiwanese. Fujian officials allow applications for Chinese residency and ID cards without requiring the surrender of Taiwanese identification.
The official questioned the fairness of individuals registered in both systems, working, receiving pensions, and claiming benefits on both sides. This violates the "one-household registration" rule, which bars Taiwanese from holding Chinese household registrations or passports.
He emphasized that Beijing is pursuing cross-strait integration and that the NIA had not conducted thorough reviews for decades. However, he said this issue can no longer be ignored, as it poses national security risks and concerns of legal fairness.
Wang Chih-sheng (王智盛), an associate professor at Central Police University’s Border Police Department, warned that dual-status Chinese nationals or spouses running for office could confuse allegiance and national identity. He said Beijing could exploit these gaps and assign such individuals political tasks.
Some Chinese spouses may also be instructed to withhold proof of renunciation to test Taiwan’s resolve.
