A Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislator yesterday accused Taiwan’s representative to the US Jason Yuan (袁健生) of lying to the Taiwanese public by saying he had never possessed a US permanent resident.
DPP Legislator Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) told a press conference yesterday that according to information on the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services’ (USCIS) Web site, the bureau issued a Lawful Permanent Residency (LPR) to Yuan on Sept. 11 last year which Yuan should have received.
Citing this, Kuan said that if Yuan surrendered his LPR on April 3 as he claimed, why did the Web site not show updated information concerning the withdrawal of the LPR?
TERMINATION
Kuan said Yuan claimed his lawyer had asked the US immigration bureau to withdraw his Form I-485, Application to Adjust Status last October. Kuan argued however that the withdrawal of Form I-485 was unrelated to the cancellation of any LPR and that a withdrawal of Form I-485 would not lead to the termination of Yuan’s LPR.
She alleged the evidence suggested that Yuan still has an LPR.
Kuan said no documents with an official US government letterhead clearly stating the USCIS’s official confirmation and approval of Yuan’s surrendering of his LPR or the termination of his application process had been found.
She added that the Web site shows that Yuan’s LPR had been sent to him.
TENURE
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) last week reiterated that Yuan does not and has never held permanent US residency during his tenure as the country’s top diplomat to the US. At the time, the ministry said Yuan had terminated his application process for US permanent residency prior to his appointment on June 26 last year.
MOFA Spokesman Henry Chen (陳銘政) yesterday said the ministry and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office (TECRO) would make no further comments on the issue because it believed Yuan had already fully disclosed all necessary details.
Reporters are welcome to contact Yuan’s lawyer in Washington directly for further inquiries, he said.
Chen said the ministry had no plans to summon Yuan back to Taiwan to offer an explanation in person.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY JENNY W. HSU
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