At a public hearing of the Legislative Yuan, Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) yesterday said she would propose amendments to remove the requirement for foreign nationals to renounce their original citizenship before being granted Republic of China (ROC) citizenship, as two former Pakistani nationals recounted how became stateless when they were denied Taiwanese citizenship after giving up Pakistani citizenship.
“If there’s any reason why I cannot be granted Taiwanese citizenship, you can tell me, so that I can keep my Pakistani citizenship, and live here as a foreign resident,” Syed Noor Alam, a former Pakistani, said at a public hearing at the legislature.
Having lived in Taiwan for more than 20 years, Syed decided to become a naturalized Taiwanese citizen after marrying a Taiwanese woman.
He was given a Certificate of ROC Naturalization Candidacy after submitting the required documents, including a certificate from the police showing that he had no criminal record in Taiwan.
With the candidacy certificate in hand, Syed flew to Pakistan to officially renounce his Pakistani citizenship. However, upon arrival in Taiwan, he found that bad news awaited him.
“When I came back to Taiwan, I received another police document saying that I had a criminal record, and so my naturalization application was turned down,” Syed said.
Admitting that he was ruled guilty in a theft case, Syed said it was unacceptable to him that the government made a mistake in the first place and is now not trying to help him.
“I couldn’t attend my father’s funeral when he passed away. Now my mother is severely ill and I still cannot be by her side,” Syed said. “My mother calls me all the time, asking me when would I be back — but I don’t know the answer.”
“Don’t you [government officials] have mothers as well?” he said.
Another former Pakistani citizen, Jawal Shakoor, faced a similar dilemma. Jawal was granted Taiwanese citizenship in 2004, but he was only a Taiwanese citizen for about eight months, as his citizenship was revoked by the Ministry of the Interior after he was discovered to have a criminal record.
“Prior to giving up my Pakistani citizenship, the police issued me a certificate proving that I had no criminal record. After granting me a Taiwanese ID card and a Taiwanese passport, they discovered otherwise and decided to take them away, without telling me what I can do next,” Jawal said.
Hsiao said she had also been stateless for a few days after she gave up her US citizenship before she received ROC citizenship.
“I waited for a few days, but some immigrants may have to wait more than a few days or even a few months. I was fortunate enough to receive my Taiwanese citizenship, but what if something went wrong during the pending period?” Hsiao said.
“I think it’s not reasonable to ask an immigrant to give up citizenship of his or her country of origin before getting Taiwanese citizenship,” she said.
Hsiao added that it is not justified to allow naturalized citizens to run for public office only 10 years after their naturalization.
“When someone becomes a naturalized citizen, he or she becomes one of us, and should be granted the same rights in political participation,” she said.
Hsiao proposed an amendment to the Nationality Act (國籍法) and the Election and Recall Act for Public Servants (公職人員選舉罷免法) to address the issue.
Chai Lan-ping (翟蘭萍), an official from the Interior Ministery’s Department of Household Registration, said the ministry is neutral on the proposals.
“As long as the laws are amended by the legislature, we would act in accordance with the amended laws,” he said.
Taiwan is to commence mass production of the Tien Kung (天弓, “Sky Bow”) III, IV and V missiles by the second quarter of this year if the legislature approves the government’s NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.78 billion) special defense budget, an official said yesterday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said that the advanced systems are expected to provide crucial capabilities against ballistic and cruise missiles for the proposed “T-Dome,” an advanced, multi-layered air defense network. The Tien Kung III is an air defense missile with a maximum interception altitude of 35km. The Tien Kung IV and V
The disruption of 941 flights in and out of Taiwan due to China’s large-scale military exercises was no accident, but rather the result of a “quasi-blockade” used to simulate creating the air and sea routes needed for an amphibious landing, a military expert said. The disruptions occurred on Tuesday and lasted about 10 hours as China conducted live-fire drills in the Taiwan Strait. The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said the exercises affected 857 international flights and 84 domestic flights, affecting more than 100,000 travelers. Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the government-sponsored Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said the air
A strong continental cold air mass is to bring pollutants to Taiwan from tomorrow, the Ministry of Environment said today, as it issued an “orange” air quality alert for most of the country. All of Taiwan except for Hualien and Taitung counties is to be under an “orange” air quality alert tomorrow, indicating air quality that is unhealthy for sensitive groups. In China, areas from Shandong to Shanghai have been enveloped in haze since Saturday, the ministry said in a news release. Yesterday, hourly concentrations of PM2.5 in these areas ranged from 65 to 160 micrograms per cubic meter (mg/m³), and pollutants were
Taiwan’s armed forces have established response protocols for a wide range of sudden contingencies, including the “Wan Chun Plan” to protect the head of state, the Ministry of Defense (MND) said today. After US President Donald Trump on Saturday launched a series of airstrikes in Venezuela and kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, concerns have been raised as to whether China would launch a similar “decapitation strike” on Taiwan. The armed forces regularly coordinate with relevant agencies and practice drills to ensure preparedness for a wide range of scenarios, Vice Minister of National Defense Hsu Szu-chien (徐斯儉) told reporters before a
RSS