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........

© The Diplomat