Lin Ruey-shiung (林瑞雄), People First Party (PFP) Chairman James Soong’s (宋楚瑜) running mate in the January presidential election, is not a US citizen, a party spokeswoman said yesterday.
Lin, who retired as an epidemiologist several years ago, visited the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) on Sept. 26 to take a vow to renounce his US citizenship, PFP spokeswoman Huang Shan-shan (黃珊珊) said.
The US citizenship renunciation takes effect the day after the renunciation, according to a similar case involving former Kaohsiung city councilor Huang Shao-ting (黃紹庭), Huang said.
She cited a Central Election Commission (CEC) statement from Aug. 17 last year that quoted the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as confirming the validity of Huang Shao-ting’s renunciation of his US citizenship by simply taking the vow at the AIT Taipei Office on June 13, 2008.
The ministry told the commission in regards to Huang Shao-ting’s case that the US does not have any official application procedure for a citizen to renounce their US citizenship, Huang Shan-shan said in response to a report in the Chinese-language China Times quoting New Party Chairman Yok Mu-ming (郁慕明) as saying Lin was “probably still a US citizen.”
The newspaper also speculated that Soong might not necessarily register as a presidential candidate, even though he has obtained enough endorsement signatures for a presidential bid.
The PFP is running in accordance with its own plans and “the party does not need anyone to worry about us,” the spokeswoman said.
Pundits say that Soong, who ran for president as an independent in 2000 after splitting with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and then ran for vice president in 2004 on a joint ticket with the KMT, could hurt President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) re-election chances.
Ma is locked in a tight race with Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文).
Central Election Commission Secretary-General Teng Tien-you (鄧天祐), meanwhile, quoted the P-residential and Vice Presidential Election and Recall Act (總統副總統選舉罷免法) as stipulating that candidates may not hold dual nationality on the date they formally register for candidacy.
“The ticket’s candidacy or the election of the candidates will be nullified if anyone on the ticket is found to hold dual nationality,” Teng said.
Registrations for the Jan. 14 presidential and legislative elections opened yesterday and will close on Friday.
Eight Chinese naval vessels and 24 military aircraft were detected crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait between 6am yesterday and 6am today, the Ministry of National Defense said this morning. The aircraft entered Taiwan’s northern, central, southwestern and eastern air defense identification zones, the ministry said. The armed forces responded with mission aircraft, naval vessels and shore-based missile systems to closely monitor the situation, it added. Eight naval vessels, one official ship and 36 aircraft sorties were spotted in total, the ministry said.
INCREASED CAPACITY: The flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays would leave Singapore in the morning and Taipei in the afternoon Singapore Airlines is adding four supplementary flights to Taipei per week until May to meet increased tourist and business travel demand, the carrier said on Friday. The addition would raise the number of weekly flights it operates to Taipei to 18, Singapore Airlines Taiwan general manager Timothy Ouyang (歐陽漢源) said. The airline has recorded a steady rise in tourist and business travel to and from Taipei, and aims to provide more flexible travel arrangements for passengers, said Ouyang, who assumed the post in July last year. From now until Saturday next week, four additional flights would depart from Singapore on Monday, Wednesday, Friday
The Ministry of National Defense yesterday reported the return of large-scale Chinese air force activities after their unexplained absence for more than two weeks, which had prompted speculation regarding Beijing’s motives. China usually sends fighter jets, drones and other military aircraft around the nation on a daily basis. Interruptions to such routine are generally caused by bad weather. The Ministry of National Defense said it had detected 26 Chinese military aircraft in the Taiwan Strait over the previous 24 hours. It last reported that many aircraft on Feb. 25, when it spotted 30 aircraft, saying Beijing was carrying out another “joint combat
Taiwan successfully defended its women’s 540 kilogram title and won its first-ever men’s 640 kg title at the 2026 World Indoor Tug of War Championships in Taipei yesterday. In the women’s event, Taiwan’s eight-person squad reached the final following a round-robin preliminary round and semifinals featuring teams from Ukraine, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, the Basque Country and South Korea. In the finals, they swept the Basque team 2-0, giving the team composed mainly of National Taiwan Normal University students and graduates its second championship in a row, and its fourth in five years. Team captain
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