Several legislators and women's groups are calling for reform of Taiwan's divorce laws and the introduction of "no-fault" divorce.
In Taiwan, a couple can obtain a divorce in two ways, either by mutual agreement or through a ruling in the courts on the grounds of adultery, cruelty, confinement in prison, physical incapacity or several other "faults."
With the divorce rate on the rise -- it jumped from 0.62 percent in 1978 to 2 percent in 1998 -- some people think it is too easy to get divorced in Taiwan.
Women's rights activists, however, disagree that it is too easy to obtain a divorce through the courts.
Both sides of the debate were presented during a public hearing on the issue at the Legislative Yuan yesterday that was attended by Ying Chih-hung (
Divorce by agreement, a device unique to Taiwan, is said to have made it too easy to end a marriage.
"Buy a divorce agreement from a stationery store, get two friends to sign it attesting to how unbearable your marriage is and then sign your own names on the documents -- that's all you have to do to end a marriage," said legislator Ying, who was a practicing lawyer in the US.
"It's easy for a couple to get very irrational during a quarrel. But a divorce agreement signed under such circumstances could often leave both of them regretting it for the rest of their lives," he said.
On the other hand, women's rights activists, who have long pressed for relaxing the existing restrictions on divorce, think going through the courts for a "fault" divorce is often too hard for some women.
"Many compare modern marriage to an instant meal, which comes and goes quickly. But that's only partially true," said Chen Mei-hua (
"The process of getting married could be like having an instant meal. But getting a divorce is quite another story. Until the day they actually get divorced, a lot of women have tasted bitter meals of adultery or violence," she said.
"Some people say it's not a good thing to have more and more couples divorcing each year. But is it a good thing to see the very poor conditions persist in lots of marriages?" Chen asked.
Normally in any divorce request, the "non-fault" spouse is required to present concrete evidence of their partner's marital misconduct. To many people's relief, however, a number of recent court decisions have made a divorce possible even though none of the fault grounds was alleged.
Putting less emphasis on "proof of fault," these courts have granted divorce requests on the basis of a legal provision that allows a divorce when a marriage is no longer sustainable for "important reasons" other than the marital conduct referred to in the law.
However, the results of court rulings often vary from one judge to another because of their diverse views on marriage. And so there have often been cases where a divorce request is granted by a district court judge only to be dismissed later by a High Court judge.
Huang Shan-shan (黃珊珊), a Taipei city councilor and a divorce lawyer, said she found that the subjectivity of judges very much affects their decisions on divorce requests.
"The gap has to be bridged by setting standards for the judges. We're hoping the judges won't make decisions based on their own views about marriage, but based on factual conditions of the marriages [in the divorce cases before them]," Huang said.
One way to remedy the situation might be the introduction of "no-fault" divorce, which would be handled by the courts, but would not require one spouse to prove the "guilt" of the other.
The Awakening Foundation and other women's groups have long called for such a move.
Ying is one of the legislators who wants to overhaul the current system and introduce no-fault divorce.
At yesterday's hearing, he promised to draft legislation to allow for no-fault divorces.
Under pressure from women's groups, Taiwan's divorce law has been amended several times in recent years. The last amendment was made in September 1996, when the regulations were changed to give mothers an equal chance at winning custody of their children after a divorce.
Prior to the change, custody was almost always granted to the father or the father's family.
A Chinese freighter that allegedly snapped an undersea cable linking Taiwan proper to Penghu County is suspected of being owned by a Chinese state-run company and had docked at the ports of Kaohsiung and Keelung for three months using different names. On Tuesday last week, the Togo-flagged freighter Hong Tai 58 (宏泰58號) and its Chinese crew were detained after the Taipei-Penghu No. 3 submarine cable was severed. When the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) first attempted to detain the ship on grounds of possible sabotage, its crew said the ship’s name was Hong Tai 168, although the Automatic Identification System (AIS)
An Akizuki-class destroyer last month made the first-ever solo transit of a Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force ship through the Taiwan Strait, Japanese government officials with knowledge of the matter said yesterday. The JS Akizuki carried out a north-to-south transit through the Taiwan Strait on Feb. 5 as it sailed to the South China Sea to participate in a joint exercise with US, Australian and Philippine forces that day. The Japanese destroyer JS Sazanami in September last year made the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force’s first-ever transit through the Taiwan Strait, but it was joined by vessels from New Zealand and Australia,
SECURITY: The purpose for giving Hong Kong and Macau residents more lenient paths to permanent residency no longer applies due to China’s policies, a source said The government is considering removing an optional path to citizenship for residents from Hong Kong and Macau, and lengthening the terms for permanent residence eligibility, a source said yesterday. In a bid to prevent the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from infiltrating Taiwan through immigration from Hong Kong and Macau, the government could amend immigration laws for residents of the territories who currently receive preferential treatment, an official familiar with the matter speaking on condition of anonymity said. The move was part of “national security-related legislative reform,” they added. Under the amendments, arrivals from the Chinese territories would have to reside in Taiwan for
CRITICAL MOVE: TSMC’s plan to invest another US$100 billion in US chipmaking would boost Taiwan’s competitive edge in the global market, the premier said The government would ensure that the most advanced chipmaking technology stays in Taiwan while assisting Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) in investing overseas, the Presidential Office said yesterday. The statement follows a joint announcement by the world’s largest contract chipmaker and US President Donald Trump on Monday that TSMC would invest an additional US$100 billion over the next four years to expand its semiconductor manufacturing operations in the US, which would include construction of three new chip fabrication plants, two advanced packaging facilities, and a research and development center. The government knew about the deal in advance and would assist, Presidential
RSS