Seventy-four percent of respondents in a survey administered by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said that Chinese spouses must relinquish Chinese citizenship before becoming legislators or assuming government posts.
The council tasked National Chengchi University’s Election Research Center to gauge changes in public opinion on cross-strait issues.
The Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (兩岸人民關係條例) stipulates that Chinese spouses can run for public office in Taiwan 10 years after obtaining an ID card, council Deputy Minister and spokesperson Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said yesterday.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
“However, the Nationality Act (國籍法) requires foreign spouses to relinquish their nationalities other than that of the Republic of China (Taiwan) after they are elected. This is to avoid having divided loyalties,” Liang said.
“I cannot say for sure that Chinese spouses can successfully relinquish their Chinese citizenship, as I have not seen such cases,” he said.
Countries such as Argentina prohibit relinquishment of citizenship, and naturalized Taiwanese citizens from these countries would be asked to leave office if they still hold dual citizenship within one year after being elected, as per the Nationality Act, he said.
The survey also found that 89.5 percent of respondents did not agree with China’s moves to oppress Taiwan on the military, economic and diplomatic fronts, while 84.9 percent did not support Beijing’s characterization of Taiwan as an internal issue, nor did they agree that countries around the world should adhere to the so-called “one China” policy.
More than 86 percent of respondents did not support Taiwan being subject to “one country, two systems.”
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
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
Minister of Digital Affairs Lin Yi-ching (林宜敬) yesterday cited regulatory issues and national security concerns as an expert said that Taiwan is among the few Asian regions without Starlink. Lin made the remarks on Facebook after funP Innovation Group chief executive officer Nathan Chiu (邱繼弘) on Friday said Taiwan and four other countries in Asia — China, North Korea, Afghanistan and Syria — have no access to Starlink. Starlink has become available in 166 countries worldwide, including Ukraine, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam, in the six years since it became commercial, he said. While China and North Korea block Starlink, Syria is not
Yangmingshan National Park’s Qingtiangang (擎天崗) nature area has gone viral after a park livestream camera observed a couple in the throes of intimate congress, which was broadcast live on YouTube, drawing large late-night crowds and sparking a backlash over noise, bright lights and disruption to wildlife habitat. The area’s livestream footage appeared to show a couple engaging in sexual activity on a picnic table in the park on Friday last week, with the uncensored footage streamed publicly online. The footage quickly spread across social media, prompting a tide of visitors to travel to the site to “check in” and recreate the
RSS