In Taiwan, Chinese-born spouses face questions of loyalty and, some say, discrimination

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — The day after Li Chen-hsiu was sworn in as a member of Taiwan’s Legislature, she was questioned about whether she belonged — about her nationality, about her identity and ultimately about her loyalty to Taiwan. That’s because Li is a “mainland spouse” — born in China and a citizen of Taiwan through marriage. She’s part of a community of some 369,000 people in the island nation who are subject to rapidly changing policies — and some say discrimination — as tensions rise with China and Taiwan’s government questions the spouses’ allegiances.

For the two months she served before being forced out of the legislature, Li was the country’s only China-born lawmaker who had immigrated to Taiwan by marriage. “It’s only because of Taiwan which has this free and democratic system, and the Taiwan People’s Party which was willing to give a political newcomer a chance, that I could have this opportunity,” she told The Associated Press in July. But now, fears of a military invasion by China have complicated Taiwan’s policy toward spouses like Li.

She is part of a diverse group that includes multiple generations, from those who married retired Chinese soldiers and came to Taiwan in search of better economic opportunity to a younger, more educated and wealthier group that met after both sides relaxed their borders. 70 years of silence and tension drive the issue China and Taiwan split during a civil war in 1949, with the Nationalist Party fleeing to the island. For decades, the two sides banned all contact, until 1987 when Taiwan’s residents were allowed to visit their family members in China for the first time.

Tensions have fluctuated, but have been high since independence-leaning Tsai Ing-wen was elected Taiwan’s president in 2016, and China cut off official contact. Today, China sends military planes and navy ships toward Taiwan daily as part of military exercises. It has also stepped up its diplomatic campaign to isolate the island on the international stage, poaching allies, keeping Taiwan out of international organizations and targeting the island with misinformation.

That threat is raising fears on the island about who’s loyal to Taiwan. A New Taipei court sentenced Hsu Chun-ying, head of an organization dedicated to helping spouses, to seven years in prison Tuesday for acting on Beijing’s behalf to spy on Taiwan and interfere with its politics.