NGO set up for mainland spouses in Taiwan

TAIPEI - A non-governmental organization (NGO) was founded in Taipei Saturday for spouses of Taiwan residents who come from the Chinese mainland.

The NGO, comprising of around 40 organizations for mainland spouses across Taiwan, aims to help spouses improve family relations, provide them with consultations on their children's education and settle issues of family disputes, domestic violence and so on.

Shi Xueyan, a mainland spouse who founded the organization, told reporters that she did so out of motivation to unite the nearly 400,000 mainland spouses in Taiwan to gain more respect and voice their requests for rights and interests they deserve, such as identification approval and limits on employment.

"There are quite a few hard-working, outstanding people among mainland spouses, but many of them still encounter difficulties at work and in life," Shi said.

Thanks to increasing economic, social and cultural exchanges between the Chinese mainland and Taiwan over the past few decades, marriages across the Taiwan Straits have become more and more common.