The Ministry of the Interior (MOI) said yesterday that KMT Legislator John Chang (
The ministry said that Chang would have to undergo a two-stage legal process, first proving that his "official parents" are not his biological parents, and second, demonstrating that Chiang and his mistress, Chang Ya-juo, were indeed his biological parents.
"Chang must take his case to court to establish that he doesn't have any blood relations with Chang Hau-juo (章浩若) and Chi Chen (紀琛), who are listed as Chang's parents on his ID. Then he has to prove his blood relation with his mother, Chang Ya-juo (章亞若)," Minister of the Interior Yu Cheng-hsien (余政憲) said at a press conference.
Yu said that there are two common ways to prove blood ties -- a birth certificate or a DNA test.
Chang held a press conference last week announcing his desire to list his birth parents' names, Chiang Ching-kuo and Chang Ya-juo (章亞若), on his ID card while retaining the surname Chang, his birth mother's family name.
If, however, he could prove that Chiang Ching-kuo raised him, Chang could be deemed under the Civil Code to have been adopted by Chiang and his ID could be amended accordingly.
Prompted by the Chang case, the MOI yesterday held an inter-departmental meeting, in which it cleared up legal uncertainty about illegitimate children carrying the surnames of their birth mothers.
It ruled that if Chang were able to prove Chiang and Chang are his birth parents, he would indeed be entitled to continue bearing the surname Chang.
Chang was not available for comment yesterday evening.
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