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.
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