Former world 9-ball and 8-ball pool champion Wu Chia-ching, who switched to Chinese citizenship, will face charges if he fails to return to Taiwan to report for his military service before early next year, the New Taipei City (新北市) Government said yesterday.
Wu, 22, remains a Republic of China citizen and his rights and responsibilities related to compulsory military service will not be waived simply because he changed nationality, officials from the city’s Civil Affairs Department said.
Wu, who changed his nationality in April to compete for China, but did not renounce his Taiwanese citizenship, was a student at the Chinese Culture University in Taipei, making him eligible for a military service deferment.
However, the university notified Wu in March that he had been expelled, eliminating his military service deferment privileges.
The department will give Wu a six-month grace period starting from tomorrow to report for military service, meaning that he should be available at his home in Taishan, New Taipei City, by Jan. 14 to report for duty, the department said.
Wu’s year of military service could start in early February, department officials said, and failure to make himself available could lead to his being placed on a “wanted” list.
Known as the “Little Genius,” Wu won the world 9-ball championship in 2005 at the age of 17, but in 2008, hoping for a higher income, flirted with the idea of -becoming a citizen of Singapore.
He then formally applied for citizenship in the city-state in 2009, but gave up the idea in May last year when he could not come to terms with the Singaporean government.
After Wu declared his interest in playing for Singapore in 2008, he was not allowed to compete for Taiwan in international competitions.
The ban was lifted after his bid to become a Singaporean citizen failed, but by then Wu felt China offered him a better opportunity to compete in more international events.
In an interview with the Central News Agency in the Philippines in May, Wu said he had no plans to return to Taiwan for the time being.
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