The Central Election Commission (CEC) announced last night that it would revoke Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Kaohsiung City Councilor Huang Shao-ting’s (黃紹庭) elected status because he was found to hold dual citizenship after being sworn in as a councilor.
“A letter from the US [Department of State] to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Huang only lost his US citizenship on June 13, 2008. The reply also stated that being sworn in to public office in another country does not constitute a criterion for a US citizen to lose his or her citizenship,” the CEC said in a statement. “The commission therefore decided to revoke Huang’s elected status and annul his certificate of election.”
Huang was sworn in as a Kaohsiung City councilor on Dec. 25, 2005. The law states that anyone who serves in public office must not have foreign citizenship when taking the oath.
INVESTIGATION
Law enforcement agencies received reports that Huang held both Taiwanese and US citizenship in October last year and launched an investigation.
When speaking before the commission, Huang testified that he obtained US citizenship when he lived and worked in the US, but claimed that he had already filed an application to revoke his US citizenship on Dec. 20, 2005, five days before he was sworn in.
As Huang was unable to show proof that he had revoked his US citizenship, the CEC asked for confirmation from the US Department of State via the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“Our investigation also found that, after having been sworn in as a Kaohsiung City councilor, Huang had used his US passport in September and October 2007,” the statement said.
PROOF
“This proves that Huang held dual citizenship prior to his election and still held dual citizenship after being sworn in,” it said.
The commission decided to revoke his elected status as he had violated the Election and Recall Act of Public Servants (公職人員選舉罷免法), the CEC said.
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