Entry-Exit Procedures to Be Further Simplified Eliminating the Need to Sply Household Registration Papers

The Ministry of the Interior has decided in principle that ordinary citizens exiting the country for tourism and other purposes will be able to do so without submitting a copy of their household registration documents for verification. The ministry called together the Ministry of National Defense, the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the Overseas Chinese Affairs Commission, the National Police Administration, and the Bureau of Entry and Exit to study and discuss the question of simplifying procedures for exit applications and reached the following preliminary conclusions:

* The portion of existing regulations regarding applications to exitthe country a second time by government workers, military servicemen, and ordinary citizens will be simplified to eliminate the requirement to submit a copy of household registration documents, except for citizens visiting relatives in mainland China, who must still submit a copy. Otherwise, persons exiting the country for such purposes as tourism, business, employment, or visits to relatives may submit a verified copy of their citizen identification papers instead of their household registration papers; however, if the above-listed persons take family members along with them out of the country, they should attach a copy of their household name booklets.

* The Bureau of Entry and Exit shall be notified immediately through jurisdictional city and county authorities of each approved case of name change.

* The Bureau of Entry and Exit will be asked to contact the Bureau ofCriminal Investigation for information on names changed before the agreement is put into effect.

* Among other items pending simplification, in the cases of "Exits of the Country by Agricultural, Mine, Industrial, and Business Personnel" and "Applications to Exit the Country by Overseas Chinese and Chinese Nationals" it was agreed to replace the use of a copy of household registration documents with the use of a copy of citizen identification cards or household name booklets.

Preliminary Decision on Marriage and Inheritance Questions Between Chinese on Either Side of the Taiwan Strait

In an ad hoc meeting on the "Temporary Regulations on Relations Between People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland" drafted by the Ministry of Justice, with regard to the questions of marriage and inheritance, in consideration of national security and social order, the following was preliminarily decided:

As to marriage: (1) if a married couple has been unable to reside together because one partner has been living on the mainland and the other on Taiwan, and the partner on Taiwan remarried before November 2, 1987, when the government began allowing visits to mainland relatives, the remarriage will be considered as effective.

(2) If both parties of the aforesaid marriage remarried before November 2, 1987, then the later of the two remarriage dates will be considered the date of their divorce.

As to inheritance: (1) the basic condition for a person on the mainland to inherit property on Taiwan is for the person to come to Taiwan to inherit the property in person.

(2) Based on securing the hard-earned fruits of the people of Taiwan over the past forty years, the amount of property inherited by a person from the mainland shall be half that of a person from Taiwan with equal standing in the order of inheritance.

(3) The ability of persons from the mainland to inherit real estate on Taiwan will be subject to restrictions.

At the meeting it was also decided to stipulate clearly in the regulations that any civil relations occurring on the mainland between people from either side of the Taiwan Strait will be recognized. The draft regulations will go into effect immediately after approval by the Executive Yuan, where they are expected to be sent for review in February.