Unrealistic expectations and short periods of courtship have contributed to a high divorce rate among mixed-nationality couples in the country, a Catholic charity organization said, adding that a famous murder case three years ago has also prompted more foreign brides, especially those from Southeast Asian countries, to divorce their Taiwanese husbands and return to their home countries.
Recent statistics released by the Ministry of the Interior (MOI) showed that mixed-ethnicity newlyweds dropped by 14 percent last year to 21,729 couples. Close to 60 percent of the marriages have one spouse from China, Hong Kong or Macau.
The number of marriages across the nation between Taiwanese and Southeast Asian nationals also dropped by 943 couples last year.
A report in the Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper) stated that in Kaohsiung County last year, 7,862 mixed-nationality couples tied the knot, while 3,207 couples called it quits, a ratio of 40.79 percent.
However, the percentage of divorce was 81.74 for marriages between Taiwanese men and Southeast Asian women.
More women from Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand and Cambodia are choosing to leave their Taiwanese husbands to go home, said Lee Bi-chi (李碧琪), a supervisor at the Good Shepherd Sisters’ new immigrant outreach program in Kaohsiung.
The MOI said that tighter control measures, such as a more thorough interview process and a background check, have resulted in the decline of interracial marriages.
But Lee said the drop could have also be prompted by the infamous railroad murder case in which a husband in Pingtung allegedly killed his Vietnamese wife for NT$70 million in insurance money by sabotaging railroad tracks in March 2006.
Prosecutors said when the wife did not die from the derailment, the husband injected her with snake poison to kill her.
That story, Lee said, served as a red flag and pushed many Vietnamese women, who were skeptical about their marriages to Taiwanese men, over the edge.
“Many foreign women marry Taiwanese men hoping for a brighter future for their families. They were often promised and expect that their Taiwanese husbands would financially support their families back home. Usually when the promise is broken, frictions begin,” Lee said, adding that some women maintain unrealistic expectations before their arrival in Taiwan.
Huang Shun-chao (黃順超), general commander of National Immigration Agency’s Operation Affairs 2nd Corp, said he has handled cases where Taiwanese men divorce their foreign wives after they have given birth to sons to carry on the Taiwanese family’s name.
“That’s exactly what happened to my friend. Her husband just kicked her out and forced her to divorce him after her son turned one year old,” said a Vietnamese women surnamed Tran, who married a Taiwanese man six years ago.
Tran said she has heard many sad stories where her “sisters” have been mistreated by their Taiwanese husbands.
“Right now, many people would rather go home and earn money while they are still young instead of staying in Taiwan. Perhaps they will get a chance to marry again, but never Taiwanese men again,” she said.
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