After impeaching Minister of Education Ovid Tzeng
But the Control Yuan seems to have given Tzeng some face, opting not to directly order him to quit but sending his case to the disciplinary committee for civil servants.
In the past, dual citizenships were common among civil servants. Taiwan's laws have long allowed its citizens to hold the citizenship of another country. The government has also long tried to entice skilled Taiwanese to return from abroad to resolve the country's talent shortage -- that is why high-level officials used to be allowed to hold dual citizenships. However, DPP legislators -- once the party entered the legislature -- have always described dual citizenship as a sign of questionable loyalty. Such criticism led the Legislative Yuan to amend regulations and forbid high-level government officials from holding dual citizenship.
The DPP has frequently used the citizenship issue as a weapon, equating a foreign passport with loyalty to a foreign state, and slamming officials from other parties who held a second passport. During the presidential campaign, Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) criticized independent candidate James Soong (宋楚瑜) and his running mate Chang Chao-hsiung (張昭雄) because their family members hold a total of ten US passports. Chen stressed that no one in his family holds a foreign passport or works abroad, hinting that the loyalty of the other candidates was questionable.
However, as the DPP gradually gained power in local and central governments, similar cases began to emerge among DPP officials. The first chiefs of the transportation and finance bureaus under Chen's Taipei City administration had to quit because of their dual citizenships. The prevalence of the issue tells us that the central government should loosen the restriction for at least some official positions as it looks for talent.
However, no matter how questionable the rule is, it is still in effect and therefore should be adhered to. Tzeng taught psychology at National Chung Cheng University after he returned to Taiwan in 1990, rising to head of the department and then dean of the College of Social Sciences. So he should have renounced his foreign citizenship long ago. But he kept it, even after he became the administrator of National Yang Ming University in 1999 and then education minister in May this year. The Control Yuan has impeached him and warned the education ministry mainly because Tzeng is a repeat offender.
Tzeng is a well-known psychologist and has worked as the secretary of the education reform task force. He has also been a dedicated social worker. His efforts in earthquake relief after the 921 quake won him recognition from Academia Sinica chief Lee Yuan-tseh
But while Tzeng is admirable in his academic achievements and dedication to social work, the way he handled the dual citizenship issue can only be described as seriously flawed. He signed an affidavit vowing to renounce his foreign citizenship, but then kept it in a drawer and did not act on it. The arguments that he had been too busy to do so or isn't so fussy about details do not exempt him from the law, nor will it do to stress his contribution to social work and education reforms.
That Tzeng first acted in contempt of the law and then tried to pass the buck to the education ministry by saying it had failed to notify him make him a sorry example of how not to behave -- and hardly a role model for teachers nationwide.
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