Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Taipei City councilors yesterday proposed an investigation to determine whether Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) or any other city officials and councilors possess dual citizenship to prevent a repeat of the incident involving former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislator Diane Lee (李慶安), who was a US citizen while she served in elected office.
Lee was found guilty last year on counts of fraud and forgery for failing to renounce her US citizenship, before serving as a Taipei City councilor and later a legislator.
The incident damaged the city council’s reputation, the DPP councilors said, adding that city officials and councilors should agree to an investigation within three months into whether any of them possess dual citizenship or foreign residency.
“Dual citizenship is a challenge to one’s national identity. City councilors and elected officials should take the initiative to clarify the issue and try to make an investigation [into dual citizenship] a requirement in the future,” Taipei City Councilor Chien Yu-yen (簡余晏), of the DPP, said yesterday.
Taipei City Councilor Chuang Ruei-hsiung (莊瑞雄), also of the DPP, said a recent controversy surrounding Council of Grand Justices nominee Chen Be-yue (陳碧玉), who held a US green card for 18 months while serving on the Supreme Court, was another factor prompting the DPP city caucus -proposal to launch an investigation.
Hau said his green card has been invalid for some years, but declined to sign an agreement to the proposed investigation.
The Department of Personnel said the city government required all elected officials to sign a statement promising that they do not have dual citizenship before taking office.
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