Despite a US statement that Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Diane Lee (李慶安) still possesses US citizenship, the Legislative Yuan resolved yesterday not to rule on her eligibility to be a lawmaker until the US responded to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ (MOFA) request for a more detailed nationality probe.
Shouting “KMT, do not cover up! Lee step down,” the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus proposed that the legislature decide Lee’s eligibility as a lawmaker.
However, the 67 legislators present at the plenary session voted 41 to 26 to reject the DPP proposal.
Vice Legislative Speaker Tseng Yung-chuan (曾永權) then ruled in favor of the Procedure Committee’s suggestion that the ministry urge the US to conduct a more thorough probe into every lawmaker’s US nationality status.
However, an official from the US State Department’s Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs was quoted by the Central News Agency on Thursday as saying that the US considered the case closed.
Outside the Legislative Yuan yesterday morning, members of the DPP Taipei Office carried banners and demanded that Lee return her earnings from governmental posts over the past 14 years — allegedly amounting to about NT$120 million (US$3.3 million).
The legislature launched an investigation in May in response to the DPP’s allegations that Lee’s US citizenship remained valid.
The Nationality Act (國籍法) bans government officials from holding dual citizenship.
On Monday the legislature received the US reply to its investigation request and the Procedure Committee decided the next day to send copies of the reply to every lawmaker.
Although the document was labeled confidential by the legislature, DPP Legislator Chai Trong-rong (蔡同榮) publicized the letter on Wednesday, revealing that Lee had been documented as a US citizen with a US passport and that the US did not find any record documenting the loss of her citizenship.
Lee, who had been arguing that she lost her citizenship the moment she took an oath of allegiance to become a public servant in Taiwan 14 years ago, protested her innocence.
Lee said that the US State Department was still reviewing a document proving the nullification of her US citizenship.
Nevertheless, she agreed on Thursday to suspend her legislative authority and salary until the review is completed.
She issued another statement yesterday saying that she would stop attending KMT caucus meetings and stop exercising her KMT membership until the controversy concerning her dual citizenship is clarified.
KMT caucus secretary-general Chang Sho-wen (張碩文) yesterday urged the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) to elaborate on the US reply and give a specific answer to Lee’s citizenship status.
KMT caucus deputy secretary-general Lo Shu-lei (羅淑蕾) urged the public to wait for the result of the review.
But some KMT legislators said they did not support stalling the investigation.
“I think we all know who was right and who was wrong. Prolonging the case would have a negative impact on Legislator Lee and the KMT,” KMT Legislator Chu Feng-chi (朱鳳芝) said.
“In fact, on an occasion yesterday [Thursday], many people [KMT lawmakers] expressed objections [to how the KMT had handled Lee’s case]. They believe [the party] should decide how to deal with her as soon as possible,” she said.
KMT Legislator Ho Tsai-feng (侯彩鳳) expressed a similar view in the legislature.
“Speaking on the nationality issue, aren’t we supposed to be honest so that we can serve as a model for our next generation?” Ho said.
At a separate setting, MOFA spokesman Henry Chen (陳銘政) yesterday said the ministry would not make any move until it receives an official request from the legislature.
Meanwhile, Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) yesterday urged Lee to take care of the paperwork necessary for the legislature’s staffers to stop wiring her salary to her bank account.
Wang said the legislature would deal with Lee’s eligibility in accordance with the Nationality Act and that Lee had until the end of next month to present documents to the legislature to prove the loss of her US citizenship.
Lee was unavailable for comment yesterday.
DPP caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) yesterday said he suspected Lee was only a “front” to protect President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九).
“If Lee collapses, then Ma will also collapse,” said Ker, referring to the DPP caucus’ suspicion that Ma holds a valid US green card.
DPP Legislator Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) called on the Ministry of the Interior to suspend Lee’s ability to leave the country, and on the Ministry of Justice to place Lee’s properties under provisional seizure.
She also urged the Central Election Commission to recall the announcements of Lee’s electoral victories in the past three legislative elections.
“The DPP caucus was going to demand that the legislature deal with [Lee’s case] during today’s session, however as of today we are discussing the consumer coupon budget and we gave up the idea,” Kuan told a press conference.
Kuan said that if the three governmental departments do not act on Lee’s case, the DPP caucus will report them to the Control Yuan for failing to execute their duties.
She added that the Taipei District Prosecutor’s Office should also request the official US documents from the Legislative Yuan for investigative purposes.
“What if on Jan. 31 the American Lee still cannot produce proof that she had given up her [US] citizenship? We have information that some KMT legislators have suggested to ‘continue to wait.’ They will continue to lie,” Kuan said.
The pan-green camp also attacked Lee for her statement that her citizenship had “automatically been revoked” when she was sworn in as a Taiwanese government official.
“What a ridiculous thing to say. Suppose her theory stood, then all US citizens owing massive amounts of taxes could just run for posts in a foreign country such as a village chief or a borough chief … And the IRS would have to close its doors,” DPP Legislator Gao Jyh-peng (高志鵬) said.
In related developments, KMT Legislator Kung Wen-chi (孔文吉), whom the US had previously wrongly confused with another US citizen whose name had the same Romanized spelling, wanted the AIT to offer him an open apology.
At a press conference, Kung said the mistake had done great harm to his reputation as a legislator.
Kung said he had received an apology letter from AIT Director Stephen Young on Wednesday, but Kung refused to accept it and would return the letter to the AIT.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY JENNY W. HSU
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