Presidential election 2008: 3 days to go: DPP calls on Wang to verify legislators' national status

The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus said yesterday that none of its legislators possessed foreign nationality and asked Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) to verify the national status of all 113 lawmakers.

"All 27 DPP lawmakers have endorsed the request. We just hope that this investigation can be launched immediately," DPP legislative caucus whip William Lai (賴清德) said during a news conference yesterday morning.

The caucus also displayed affidavits signed by the party's legislators stating that they did not hold foreign citizenship and letters authorizing the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to verify their statements with foreign governments.

In addition, Lai also filed a forgery and fraud lawsuit with the Taipei District Prosecutors' Office on behalf of the DPP caucus against Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Diane Lee (李慶安), accusing her of lying about her nationality when she said that her US citizenship had "automatically expired."

Lee's nationality status became an issue after the March 12 edition of Chinese-language Next magazine reported she had dual nationality.

Lee said she received a US green card about 20 years ago when her husband was working in the US. She said that she obtained permanent residency in 1985 and US citizenship in 1991.

Lee said she gave up her US citizenship after returning to Taiwan to serve as a government official, showing two Taiwanese passports and two used US visitor's visas as evidence.

"For many years, I have used my Taiwanese passport and US [visitor] visas," she said at the time.

DPP deputy legislative caucus whip Chiu Yi-ying (邱議瑩) said she had learned from the American Institute in Taiwan that to abandon one's US citizenship, a person must take an oath at a US embassy or related office.

Additional reporting by CNA