China Power | Politics | East Asia

Taiwan’s First PRC-born Legislator Stokes Controversy

The status of Chinese spouses of Taiwanese has been increasingly a topic of debate in Taiwan.

Liu Zhen-xiu, wearing a TPP jacket, attends a press conference held by the Hualien County Government, Feb. 25, 2026.

The appointment to the legislature of Li Zhen-xiu has stoked no shortage of controversy in Taiwan. Li is the first China-born legislator in Taiwan’s contemporary democratic politics, having acquired Taiwanese nationality through marriage to a Taiwanese. 

In this sense, Li is the first “Chinese spouse” to take office in the legislature. The status of Chinese spouses who have Taiwanese nationality through marriage has long been contested, with the Kuomintang (KMT) traditionally seeking to depict itself as defending the interests of Chinese spouses in Taiwan to court their votes, while framing the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) as irrationally targeting them. 

The status of Chinese spouses of Taiwanese has been increasingly in the news in past years, following the Lai administration’s invalidation of the residency of several Chinese streamers who were living in Taiwan due to acquiring residency through marriage to a Taiwanese national. The Lai administration justified invalidating their residency on the basis of such streamers’ support for unification between Taiwan and China using military force, stating that while advocating for peaceful reunification was acceptable, advocating the use of armed force was not. 

Li took office thanks to an unusual provision of the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), in which party-list legislators have a two-year term limit and are rotated out. Legislators normally serve four-year terms. The TPP has touted this provision as intended to ensure that the party comes first, rather than the careers of individual politicians. This is one of several unusual provisions in the TPP’s party charter, including that politicians of the TPP can simultaneously be members of other political parties – though few, if any, TPP politicians appear to have taken this up. 

Taiwanese law forbids legislators from holding other nationalities. As such, Li had to prove that she had given up her Chinese nationality in order to take office, even after being sworn in. The TPP backed Li, emphasizing her loyalty, her long-term residence in Taiwan, and that Li has five children, though she divorced her Taiwanese spouse in 2024. 

Nevertheless, security concerns were raised about the possibility of an individual born in China taking office. The Lai administration stated that relevant administrative entities would refuse requests for information from Li. Likewise, the Ministry of the Interior took the view that Li had not completed the process to give up her Chinese nationality, as did the watchdog NGO Citizen Congress Watch. Li claimed that Chinese offices in Hengyang City in Hunan Province denied her application to give up her citizenship. 

Legislative Yuan President Han Kuo-yu of the KMT eventually publicly backed Li becoming a legislator, seemingly resolving the matter of whether Li would take office or not, given that Han has oversight over the legislature. That being said, Li’s status continues to be contested, with the Mainland Affairs Council stating that Li taking office was “regrettable” and stating that she did not have the qualification to be a legislator. 

Furthermore, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang refused to answer questioning by Li in the legislature, suggesting that the Lai administration will, in fact, act on its previous statements that it and relevant administrative units of government would refuse requests for information from Li. 

In a sense, Li’s status is just another example of a broader conflict between the KMT and TPP-controlled legislature and the DPP-controlled executive branch of government. All indications are that the pan-Blue camp will continue to attack the DPP over the issue of the treatment of Chinese spouses of Taiwanese. 

KMT legislative caucus leader Fu Kun-chi has introduced legislation that would allow Chinese nationals to take office as legislators without renouncing their original nationality. That being said, it is probable that the legislation proposed by Fu would lead to pushback from the general public, particularly if it comes to be seen as paving the way for other China-born individuals to enter the legislature. 

Controversy regarding Li also serves as a bellwether for where the TPP stands at present in terms of its alignment with the KMT. Having aligned with the KMT on most of the larger pan-Blue party’s major policy pushes in the last two years – including carrying out the largest set of cuts to Taiwan’s government budget in history and freezing the Constitutional Court – the TPP has also taken up the traditional pan-Blue political issue of advocacy for Chinese spouses of Taiwanese.  

The Li controversy is not the first time that individuals linked to the TPP have come under scrutiny for possible links to China that could prove sensitive for security. In 2024, the TPP expelled party spokesperson Ma Chih-wei after Ma was charged with providing information to Chinese agents about the Taiwanese government. Ma reportedly passed on details such as the names, titles, and phone numbers of individuals working in the Executive Yuan, Legislative Yuan, National Security Bureau, and Presidential Office, in return for financial support for her independent legislative run. Ma received part of the funds in cryptocurrency. 

Ma later made the news after streaming within the legislature for a YouTube channel, having continued to be an active figure in political life while remaining out on bail. This led to criticisms from DPP legislators that Ma’s actions constituted a security breach for the legislature. 

But, as a whole, neither the KMT nor the TPP seem particularly concerned about the optics of passing on information to the Chinese government at present. For one, in the new session of the legislature, Ma Wen-chun was again appointed as the KMT’s co-chair of the defense committee. Ma previously faced scrutiny over allegations that she had leaked confidential documents about Taiwan’s domestic submarine program to China and South Korea, while repeatedly voting down defense spending. That Ma was named co-chair of the defense committee for the second time despite these controversies is telling about the optics that the KMT wishes to present where national security is concerned. 

Still, in digging their heels in over issues such as the status of China-born members in the legislature or the possibility of information leaks to China, it is possible that the KMT and TPP simply give the DPP political ammunition to use against them. 

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The appointment to the legislature of Li Zhen-xiu has stoked no shortage of controversy in Taiwan. Li is the first China-born legislator in Taiwan’s contemporary democratic politics, having acquired Taiwanese nationality through marriage to a Taiwanese. 

In this sense, Li is the first “Chinese spouse” to take office in the legislature. The status of Chinese spouses who have Taiwanese nationality through marriage has long been contested, with the Kuomintang (KMT) traditionally seeking to depict itself as defending the interests of Chinese spouses in Taiwan to court their votes, while framing the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) as irrationally targeting them. 

The status of Chinese spouses of Taiwanese has been increasingly in the news in past years, following the Lai administration’s invalidation of the residency of several Chinese streamers who were living in Taiwan due to acquiring residency through marriage to a Taiwanese national. The Lai administration justified invalidating their residency on the basis of such streamers’ support for unification between Taiwan and China using military force, stating that while advocating for peaceful reunification was acceptable, advocating the use of armed force was not. 

Li took office thanks to an unusual provision of the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), in which party-list legislators have a two-year term limit and are rotated out. Legislators normally serve four-year terms. The TPP has touted this provision as intended to ensure that the party comes first, rather than the careers of individual politicians. This is one of several unusual provisions in the TPP’s party charter, including that politicians of the TPP can simultaneously be members of other political parties – though few, if any, TPP politicians appear to have taken this up. 

Taiwanese law forbids legislators from holding other nationalities. As such, Li had to prove that she had given up her Chinese nationality in order to take office, even after being sworn in. The TPP backed Li, emphasizing her loyalty, her long-term residence in Taiwan, and that Li has five children, though she divorced her Taiwanese spouse in 2024. 

Nevertheless, security concerns were raised about the possibility of an individual born in China taking office. The Lai administration stated that relevant administrative entities would refuse requests for information from Li. Likewise, the Ministry of the Interior took the view that Li had not completed the process to give up her Chinese nationality, as did the watchdog NGO Citizen Congress Watch. Li claimed that Chinese offices in Hengyang City in Hunan Province denied her application to give up her citizenship. 

Legislative Yuan President Han Kuo-yu of the KMT eventually publicly backed Li becoming a legislator, seemingly resolving the matter of whether Li would take office or not, given that Han has oversight over the legislature. That being said, Li’s status continues to be contested, with the Mainland Affairs Council stating that Li taking office was “regrettable” and stating that she did not have the qualification to be a legislator. 

Furthermore, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang refused to answer questioning by Li in the legislature, suggesting that the Lai administration will, in fact, act on its previous statements that it and relevant administrative units of government would refuse requests for information from Li. 

In a sense, Li’s status is just another example of a broader conflict between the KMT and TPP-controlled legislature and the DPP-controlled executive branch of government. All indications are that the pan-Blue camp will continue to attack the DPP over the issue of the treatment of Chinese spouses of Taiwanese. 

KMT legislative caucus leader Fu Kun-chi has introduced legislation that would allow Chinese nationals to take office as legislators without renouncing their original nationality. That being said, it is probable that the legislation proposed by Fu would lead to pushback from the general public, particularly if it comes to be seen as paving the way for other China-born individuals to enter the legislature. 

Controversy regarding Li also serves as a bellwether for where the TPP stands at present in terms of its alignment with the KMT. Having aligned with the KMT on most of the larger pan-Blue party’s major policy pushes in the last two years – including carrying out the largest set of cuts to Taiwan’s government budget in history and freezing the Constitutional Court – the TPP has also taken up the traditional pan-Blue political issue of advocacy for Chinese spouses of Taiwanese.  

The Li controversy is not the first time that individuals linked to the TPP have come under scrutiny for possible links to China that could prove sensitive for security. In 2024, the TPP expelled party spokesperson Ma Chih-wei after Ma was charged with providing information to Chinese agents about the Taiwanese government. Ma reportedly passed on details such as the names, titles, and phone numbers of individuals working in the Executive Yuan, Legislative Yuan, National Security Bureau, and Presidential Office, in return for financial support for her independent legislative run. Ma received part of the funds in cryptocurrency. 

Ma later made the news after streaming within the legislature for a YouTube channel, having continued to be an active figure in political life while remaining out on bail. This led to criticisms from DPP legislators that Ma’s actions constituted a security breach for the legislature. 

But, as a whole, neither the KMT nor the TPP seem particularly concerned about the optics of passing on information to the Chinese government at present. For one, in the new session of the legislature, Ma Wen-chun was again appointed as the KMT’s co-chair of the defense committee. Ma previously faced scrutiny over allegations that she had leaked confidential documents about Taiwan’s domestic submarine program to China and South Korea, while repeatedly voting down defense spending. That Ma was named co-chair of the defense committee for the second time despite these controversies is telling about the optics that the KMT wishes to present where national security is concerned. 

Still, in digging their heels in over issues such as the status of China-born members in the legislature or the possibility of information leaks to China, it is possible that the KMT and TPP simply give the DPP political ammunition to use against them. 

Brian Hioe is one of the founding editors of New Bloom, as well as a freelance journalist and translator.

China influence operations in Taiwan

mainland spouses in Taiwan

Taiwan leaks to China

Taiwan People's Party (TPP)

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