Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) yesterday lambasted legal expert Shao Tzu-ping (邵子平) for accepting Chinese citizenship while expecting to remain eligible for Taiwan’s National Health Insurance (NHI) system and pension program.
“There’s no way that would ever happen,” Su said.
The health insurance system and pension program are meant for the 23 million Taiwanese citizens whose hard work makes the benefits possible, he added.
Photo: Chung Li-hua, Taipei Times
Su’s remarks came after media on Monday reported that Shao — whose local household registration was revoked because he assumed Chinese citizenship — has vowed to return to Taiwan and sue the government.
Hong Kong’s Ming Pao quoted Shao as saying that Taiwan’s move was clearly unconstitutional.
Shao is known for his contribution to John Rabe’s journal The Good Man of Nanking, which recounts the events that led to the Nanking Massacre of 1937 and 1938.
He also helped produce Magee’s Testament, a film that contains footage of the Nanking Massacre that was shot by missionary John Magee.
According to the Chinese-language report, Shao’s household registration in Taipei was canceled last month by Taipei’s Wanhua District (萬華) registration office in compliance with National Immigration Agency regulations prohibiting Taiwanese nationals from taking Chinese citizenship, the report said.
Shao, who is in his 80s, criticized the government for canceling his household registration, saying that it seriously damaged his economic interests and trampled on his civil rights, the report added.
“I have had my household registration in Taiwan for decades and without it, I am unable to apply for National Health Insurance or claim my retirement pension,” he was quoted as saying.
“The rights to which I am entitled are all gone,” Shao said, adding that he only registered a household in Nanjing out of necessity, as he regularly spends time there and also needed to open a bank account.
Shao, who resides in Nanjing, said that he intended to sue Taiwan’s “immigration authority and its head [Director-General Chiu Feng-kuang (邱豐光)], and also the Democratic Progressive Party” for depriving him of his rights.
According to local media, he grew up in Nanjing, but escaped with his family to Taiwan when he was 12, before China fell to the communists.
He graduated from National Taiwan University with a law degree in 1958 and moved to the US in 1971, where he worked at the UN until his retirement.
In 2003, he left the US to settle in Beijing with his wife. He registered his Nanjing household in December last year and received a Chinese identity card in January.
The immigration agency on Monday told Shao that he has breached the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例).
The law stipulates that Taiwanese nationals with Chinese household registration or passports must forfeit their Taiwanese household registration. Without the registration, they cannot participate in elections, serve in the military or take public office.
Shao’s household registration in Wanhua District was canceled on March 18, the immigration agency said, adding that the case was handled according to the law.
Mainland Affairs Council Minister Chen Ming-tong (陳明通) yesterday wrote on Facebook that Shao’s situation was easily resolved without involving the courts.
According to Article 9-2 of the act, if Shao presents documentation that he has annulled his residency in China and renounced his Chinese passport, he can apply to the Ministry of the Interior to reinstate his Taiwanese citizenship and reside once again in Taiwan
TIGHTENED RULES: Employees in the affected sectors must be fully vaccinated by Jan. 1 or provide an exemption certificate, and they must undergo COVID-19 testing People working in sectors supervised by the education, economics, labor, and health and welfare ministries must be fully vaccinated by next month, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said yesterday. “Starting from Jan. 1, vaccination rules for workers at industries supervised by the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the Ministry of Labor, and the Ministry of Health and Welfare will be further enhanced,” said Centers for Disease Control Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥), who is the CECC’s spokesman. New employees and those returning to work must provide a negative COVID-19 test result — an antigen rapid test, at-home rapid
THREAT REMAINS: With cases rising in many parts of the world, the minister urged the public to continue complying with the disease prevention regulations Taiwan can be considered to have achieved “COVID zero” status, Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) said yesterday, despite the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) reporting 21 imported cases of COVID-19, the highest number of daily imported infections reported this year. Chen, who heads the CECC, said no local infections or deaths were reported, but 21 imported cases were confirmed yesterday. The imported cases are eight men and 13 women who arrived from Belize, Cambodia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, Vietnam and the US, Chen said. The highest number of daily imported infections last year was 25 cases on March 23, he
NO ENTRY: The refusal to process Lithuanian goods at Chinese ports suggests that they have been ordered to do so by an official entity, a trade group head said The Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has called on the governments of other EU member states to jointly respond to Beijing blocking Lithuanian exports from entering China, as “Lithuania is not listed on the [Chinese customs] system as a country.” Lithuanian media Web site 15min.lt yesterday cited a Lithuanian wood exporter as saying that it was not allowed to unload its goods at an unnamed Chinese port. The company said that its Chinese partner cited customs authorities as saying that any merchandise or shipments related to Lithuania would be refused, effective immediately. Lithuanian timber exporter Sprusas confirmed that Lithuanian goods could be loaded
‘RESOLUTELY COMMITTED’: Sparking a crisis in the Taiwan Strait would be in no one’s interest, starting with China, the US secretary of state told a conference US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told the Reuters Next conference on Friday that Chinese leaders should think carefully about their actions toward Taiwan, warning of “terrible consequences” if China precipitates a crisis across the Taiwan Strait. In an interview, Blinken addressed multiple foreign policy challenges facing the administration of US President Joe Biden, including faltering efforts to repair the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, Russia’s military buildup near Ukraine and the spiraling conflict in Ethiopia. Most acute might be China’s increasingly aggressive posture toward Taiwan. Minister of National Defense Chiu Kuo-cheng (邱國正) has said tensions with China are at their worst in
RSS