Legislators of the Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) are considering an amendment to the Presidential and Vice Presidential Election and Recall Law to prohibit people born outside the territory of the ROC from being presidential candidates, TSU lawmaker Chen Chien-ming (陳建銘) said yesterday.
The TSU geographically defines the ROC as Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu.
Chen said that the proposal was the result of concerns about the nation's security and that it was not designed to prevent particular politicians from standing for election.
The TSU lawmaker brushed aside opposition accusations that the initiative was intended to prevent certain opposition politicians such as Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (
Ma was born in Hong Kong, whereas Lien and Soong were born in China.
Chen said that the proposal, which is still being drafted, will specify that the restriction cannot be applied to individuals who were eligible to stand before the law was passed.
Under current legislation, any person born in China can run for the presidency provided they have been ROC (Taiwan) citizens for 15 years.
"The theme of the [new] proposal is to prevent Taiwanese from being ruled by Chinese," Chen said.
"Neither Ma, Lien, nor Soong will be affected by this law [if it is passed]," he said, "and the constraint will only apply to presidential candidates; no other political positions will be restricted by this legal constraint."
Chen said the party was considering the proposal as it reflected the opinions of TSU supporters.
According to the lawmaker, supporters of the party had urged the TSU to try to pass such an amendment given that many countries in the world have regulations forbidding people born overseas from standing in presidential elections.
Under US law, only natural-born citizens in the US ARE eligible to run for the presidency. Naturalized citizens or US citizens born abroad are not eligible.
But one problem that Chen himself recognized about the proposal was that it would have to use the nation's official name, the Republic of China. But there is great disagreement over just what territory the ROC is supposed to consist of.
The 1947 Constitution does not delineate what the territory of the ROC is. Pro-unificationists hold that it contains all the territory China laid claim to at the time the Constitution was passed -- including Mongolia, already an independent state since 1924.
Chen said, however, that the TSU maintains ROC territory includes only Taiwan and its outlying islands, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu.
"The issue will only be solved if the Constitution can be amended. ? The matter can be discussed rationally, there is no need to set any preconditions," he said.
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