A Democratic Progressive Party legislator yesterday introduced a draft amendment that would require Chinese spouses to swear an oath of loyalty to Taiwan and take a test of civic knowledge before becoming citizens.
Legislator Huang Jie (黃捷) proposed the changes amid controversy around a proposal to allow Chinese spouses to obtain citizenship after four years of marriage, down from six.
Under the proposal, the oath of loyalty would be legally binding, with contravention of it resulting in the person losing their household registration.
Photo: Reuters
Foreigners wishing to become citizens in most cases must forfeit their original citizenship and take a test, but there are legal and practical difficulties in asking Chinese immigrants to renounce their citizenship, Huang said.
Based on other countries’ citizenship laws, Huang’s proposal would add a naturalization oath and a test of language proficiency, citizens’ rights and obligations to 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).
The oath would be performed publicly at a location and in a manner chosen by the Ministry of the Interior, the proposal says.
The text of the oath would read: “I completely renounce my former status as a citizen of the Mainland area and my basic rights and obligations herein. I also vow that after becoming a citizen of the Taiwan area, I will defend its democracy and freedom, abide by its Constitution and laws, and fulfill my civic obligations.”
The text would then be signed and stamped by the applicant, and sent to the ministry to be archived.
The citizenship test content, exemptions, fees and other matters would also be decided by the ministry, the proposal states.
Contravention of Article 33 or Article 33-1 of the act prohibiting engagement with certain organizations or people in China or contraventions of the Anti-infiltration Act (反滲透法) would result in the loss of household registration, which may be obtained after gaining citizenship.
Those with childcare or other obligations due to their status as citizens would be asked to leave the country, but their citizenship would not be forfeit, the draft states.
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