SOUTHBOUND EFFECT? The government’s policy of promoting closer ties with Southeast Asia has resulted in a change to patterns of marriage, a researcher said

Taipei Times
Datge:  Apr 06, 2020
By: Chung Li-hua and William Hetherington / Staff reporter, with staff writer

A sharp decrease in the number of Taiwanese marrying Chinese is likely due to businesses relocating away from China, a researcher said on Saturday.

In 2003 there were 34,109 cross-strait marriages registered in Taiwan, but only 6,262 last year, said Academia Sinica Institute of Sociology research fellow Lin Thung-hong (林宗弘), citing information from the Ministry of the Interior.

In 2003 the number of cross-strait marriages was so high that the government began conducting interviews with registrants to filter out fake marriages, Lin said.

“In the early years there were many fake marriages involving Chinese coming to Taiwan for work, but circumstances on both sides have changed,” a Mainland Affairs Council official said on condition of anonymity.    [FULL  STORY]