Taiwan plans on loosening its rules on residence permits for Chinese mainlanders who are no longer married to a local spouse, Taiwan's United Daily News reports. 

The current rules, which have been in effect since 1992, are seen by many as out of date.

Under current regulations, Chinese mainlanders who divorce their Taiwan spouses can’t maintain their residence status unless they are granted custody of local children. As a consequence of this policy, many mainland spouses remained in broken marriages – some of them violent, according to reports – in order to stay near their children, local media reported.

Current regulations have also been criticized for discriminating against non-local widows and widowers, who face tighter Taiwan residence restrictions than mainlanders whose spouses are still alive.

Local departments are considering revising these regulations with the aim of creating looser conditions for residency – though exact details about what new laws would entail remains to be seen.

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