married!

Photo: David Wu

Committment and cake blues

I've been depressed lately, I think because the weather turned cold and dreary, Neil's been gone, I'm still in temporary housing, and lastly, wedding planning is sometimes a very solitary process. Saturday I rode the bus for an hour to visit a bakery, only to arrive and find out the owner was out (even though I had called the day before). And, when I saw photos of past work, it was of the awful-80s-white-plastic-pillars variety. Thankfully, the owner did phone me later that day and was very nice, but was unsure if they could do what I wanted, and definitely not within my budget. It got me into a funk: I love cake, but it looks like getting what I love will be extremely difficult and out-of-budget...should I even bother? It's positively depressing having to stay late at work every night just so I have an Internet connection to get wedding planning done.

I started a feeling a bit better yesterday when I went over to Eric's for a great belated Thanksgiving dinner. A lot of turkey put me in a good mood. And I also went to concert of Gordon Shi-Wen Chin's music, sponsored by the Chilin Foundation. The piece I enjoyed the most was actually the encore, one he wrote for his wife on their 10th wedding anniversary. I swear he said (but I may have misunderstood the Chinese, and Jen wasn't paying attention) that love does not come down from the heavens, but is a choice. Anyways, the piece and the presence of the foundation's founders, Mr. & Mrs. I-Shiung & Su-Ming Lin, got me thinking. Particularly Mrs. Lin.

When you get married, you vow to be together, through sickness and health, through the good times and bad times. when you marry, it's a public affirmation that you believe in your spouse and what they stand for. But no one ever imagines that their husband will become a political prisoner of a authoritarian government, and that they will come home one day to find their twin daughters and mother-in-law stabbed to death by the same authoritarian government, and another daughter clinging to life. How do you carry on without your spouse physically present? How do you raise and help heal a daughter when you have your own grieving to do?

Getting married in Taiwan as a Foreigner 101

I haven't posted in (gasp!) over a week as I've been busy moving (a subject deserving of its own post). Anyways, after checking several resources I now have all the steps:

1. Get proof that you are single from your local embassy-equivalent (AIT has a comprehensive page on obtaining a "Affidavit Regarding Marital Status" for American citizens). The cost was NT$1980 total for us at current exchange rates when we went.
   
   At AIT, you must make an online appointment for notary services in order to get it done. The link to the online appointment system is hard to find on their website, but the actual process itself is very quick - about 15 minutes.
2. Take the notarized affidavits (a.k.a. single certificate) to Consular Affairs Bureau at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to get it authenticated. After you get off the escalators at their Taipei Office, you turn 180° and get a number for counter 28. Each person wanting their affidavit authenticated must also bring:
   
   • their ARC,
   • a copy of both sides of their ARC.
   Both people must be present if you want it to be done in one trip, or you can take the form, sign it, and return it on another trip. The cost is NT$400 per affidavit.
   
   Then, after the forms are filled and money owed is paid at the cashier, you're given the option of either paying extra for delivery or to come again another day (I opted for receiving the forms by post, an extra NT$98).
3. The authenticated forms take about 2 business days to process. Then, take those forms, along with both people's passports, and a photocopy of both sides of two witnesses' IDs (should be Taiwanese citizens over 20 years of age), and go to the district court to schedule an appointment.
   
   The district court in Taipei that handles marriages is located in Hsin-tian (xin-dian):
   
   Taipei District Court
   248 Chung-hsing Road, Section 1
   Hsin tien, Taipei County
   (02)8919-3866×204
   8:30am-5:00pm, Monday-Friday
   
   
   Bring to the court:
   
   • both authenticated copies of the singles certificates
   • each persons' passport
   • photocopies of both sides of the two witnesses' IDs (should be Taiwanese citizens over 20 years of age)
     
   
   Apparently both parties do not need to be present to make an appointment. You must make the appointment at least 1 week in advance of the date you want to marry. Apparently auspicious dates (it's a superstitious country) get booked weeks in advance. Ceremonies on weekdays cost NT$1,000, and weekend ceremonies cost NT$1,500.
4. Return for the actual ceremony on the scheduled date, this time bringing your witnesses. Apparently marriages at the District Court get Chinese certificates with an official English translation - the Chinese one being legally recognized in Taiwan, and the official English one required for recognition in the U.S. The U.S. recognizes legally conducted marriages conducted abroad.

The process may be slightly different if you are a national of a different country (regarding the single certificate part). The British Trade and Cultural Office has it's own page on marriage in Taiwan.