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.
The first global hotel Keys Selection by the Michelin Guide includes four hotels in Taiwan, Michelin announced yesterday. All four received the “Michelin One Key,” indicating guests are to experience a “very special stay” at any of the locations as the establishments are “a true gem with personality. Service always goes the extra mile, and the hotel provides much more than others in its price range.” Of the four hotels, three are located in Taipei and one in Taichung. In Taipei, the One Key accolades were awarded to the Capella Taipei, Kimpton Da An Taipei and Mandarin Oriental Taipei. Capella Taipei was described by
EVA Airways today confirmed the death of a flight attendant on Saturday upon their return to Taiwan and said an internal investigation has been launched, as criticism mounted over a social media post accusing the airline of failing to offer sufficient employee protections. According to the post, the flight attendant complained of feeling sick on board a flight, but was unable to take sick leave or access medical care. The crew member allegedly did not receive assistance from the chief purser, who failed to heed their requests for medical attention or call an ambulance once the flight landed, the post said. As sick
The Taichung District Court yesterday confirmed its final ruling that the marriage between teenage heir Lai (賴) and a man surnamed Hsia (夏) was legally invalid, preventing Hsia from inheriting Lai’s NT$500 million (US$16.37 million) estate. The court confirmed that Hsia chose not to appeal the civil judgement after the court handed down its ruling in June, making the decision final. In the June ruling, the court said that Lai, 18, and Hsia, 26, showed “no mutual admiration before the marriage” and that their interactions were “distant and unfamiliar.” The judge concluded that the couple lacked the “true intention of
INDUSTRY: Beijing’s latest export measures go beyond targeting the US and would likely affect any country that uses Chinese rare earths or related tech, an academic said Taiwanese industries could face significant disruption from China’s newly tightened export controls on rare earth elements, as much of Taiwan’s supply indirectly depends on Chinese materials processed in Japan, a local expert said yesterday. Kristy Hsu (徐遵慈), director of the Taiwan ASEAN Studies Center at the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research, said that China’s latest export measures go far beyond targeting the US and would likely affect any country that uses Chinese rare earths or related technologies. With Japan and Southeast Asian countries among those expected to be hit, Taiwan could feel the impact through its reliance on Japanese-made semi-finished products and
RSS