Taiwanese who obtain Chinese household residency would have their Republic of China citizenship revoked in accordance with Taiwanese law, an official with knowledge of cross-strait affairs said on Sunday.
Beijing in the past few years has been promoting permanent residency for Taiwanese living in China. To obtain it, an applicant must forfeit their Taiwan compatriot card and Taiwanese identification card, and after a period of time, they can apply for People’s Republic of China (PRC) household residency.
Chinese state media have been promoting the story of Chang Li-chi (張立齊), a professor at Huaqiao University in China’s Fujian Province who was the first to settle in the province under the scheme.
Photo: Sam Yeh, AFP
Chang is a vocal supporter of unification and has traveled often between Taiwan and China, where he earned his doctorate at Beijing University, the Taiwanese official said on condition of anonymity.
In the same vein as Justin Lin (林毅夫), who defected to China in 1979 and later became a vice president at the World Bank, Chang has let himself become a model for Chinese “united front” work, the official said.
However, the permanent residence tactic is unlikely to be effective due to China’s struggling economy and tightening control over national security, they said.
“Foreigners and Chinese alike are fleeing,” they said. “Why would the average Taiwanese want to settle there now?”
According to the guidelines posted by China’s National Immigration Administration, Taiwanese granted permanent residency must forfeit their compatriot card, Taiwanese ID and entry-exit permit to their local public security bureau within six months, the official said.
Then within the period of validity, the resident must apply for household residence and obtain a “residency card,” which is equivalent to naturalization, they said.
Doing so contravenes the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), they added.
Article 9-1 of the act states that Taiwanese cannot hold household registration or a passport issued by the PRC.
Those in contravention “shall be deprived” of their citizenship and the rights therein, as well as household registration in Taiwan.
Those who obtain permanent residency, but do not apply for household registration in China before the deadline are viewed as abandoning the process and would not be in contravention of the act, the official said.
AGING: While Japan has 22 submarines, Taiwan only operates four, two of which were commissioned by the US in 1945 and 1946, and transferred to Taiwan in 1973 Taiwan would need at least 12 submarines to reach modern fleet capabilities, CSBC Corp, Taiwan chairman Chen Cheng-hung (陳政宏) said in an interview broadcast on Friday, citing a US assessment. CSBC is testing the nation’s first indigenous defense submarine, the Hai Kun (海鯤, Narwhal), which is scheduled to be delivered to the navy next month or in July. The Hai Kun has completed torpedo-firing tests and is scheduled to undergo overnight sea trials, Chen said on an SET TV military affairs program. Taiwan would require at least 12 submarines to establish a modern submarine force after assessing the nation’s operational environment and defense
Yangmingshan National Park authorities yesterday urged visitors to respect public spaces and obey the law after a couple was caught on a camera livestream having sex at the park’s Qingtiangang (擎天崗) earlier in the day. The Shilin Police Precinct in Taipei said it has identified a suspect and his vehicle registration number, and would summon him for questioning. The case would be handled in accordance with public indecency charges, it added. The couple entered the park at about 11pm on Thursday and began fooling around by 1am yesterday, the police said, adding that the two were unaware of the park’s all-day live
The coast guard today said that it had disrupted "illegal" operations by a Chinese research ship in waters close to the nation and driven it away, part of what Taipei sees a provocative pattern of China's stepped up maritime activities. The coast guard said that it on Thursday last week detected the Chinese ship Tongji (同濟號), which was commissioned only last year, 29 nautical miles (54km) southeast of the southern tip of Taiwan, although just outside restricted waters. The ship was observed lowering ropes into the water, suspected to be the deployment of scientific instruments for "illegal" survey operations, and the coast
A former soldier and an active-duty army officer were yesterday indicted for allegedly selling classified military training materials to a Chinese intelligence operative for a total of NT$79,440. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office indicted Chen Tai-yin (陳泰尹) and Lee Chun-ta (李俊達) for contravening the National Security Act (國家安全法) and the Anti-Corruption Act (貪污治罪條例). Chen left the military in September 2013 after serving alongside then-staff sergeant Lee, now an army lieutenant, at the 21st Artillery Command of the army’s Sixth Corps from 2011 to 2013, according to the indictment. Chen met a Chinese intelligence operative identified as “Wang” (王) through a friend in November