Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers have introduced draft amendments to the Nationality Act (國籍法) that would have public servants found to possess dual nationality reimburse the government following their dismissal.
The Ministry of the Interior last month identified five borough chiefs with Chinese citizenship and instructed district offices to handle the issue as stipulated in the Nationality Act and Household Registration Act (戶籍法). The ministry had also dismissed former Nantou County councilor Shi Xueyan (史雪燕) in December last year due to her possession of a Chinese nationality.
Similar issues had occurred in 2008, when then-Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislator and former Taipei councilor Diane Lee (李慶安) was found to have US citizenship.
Photo: Taipei Times
The Taipei City Council in 2009 filed a lawsuit against Lee and requested that she return the salary she received as a councilor between 1994 and 1998.
However, the Taipei High Administrative Court ruled that Lee was not required to return the income she earned.
To prevent similar occurrences, DPP legislators Michelle Lin (林楚茵) and Huang Jie (黃捷) proposed draft amendments to Article 20 of the Nationality Act, which would be reviewed by the legislature’s Procedure Committee tomorrow.
The bill stipulates that public servants who fail to renounce non-Taiwanese citizenship and obtain relevant certificates must return the salaries, grants or subsidies they received within their tenure to the government, as required by their employing agency.
The right to a recovery of compensation would become invalid if the employing agency does not make a claim within five years after the misconduct was confirmed, it said.
If the compensation failed to be returned within the due date, compulsory enforcement should be initiated in accordance with the Administrative Execution Act (行政執行法), the proposed amendment says.
If the failure to honor monetary obligations is imputable to the obligator, the compensation should be paid back with statutory interest on a daily basis from the date when a payment notice is sent by the employing agency, it adds.
To ensure public servants’ loyalties to the nation, Huang and DPP Legislator Hsu Chih-chieh (許智傑) also proposed draft amendments to the Public Officials Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法), which were reviewed in an Internal Administration Committee meeting at the legislature on Jan. 3.
The bill stipulates that people who fail to renounce their Hong Kong, Macau or China citizenship and provide relevant certificates cannot register as a candidate for public office.
However, the stipulation does not apply to those who are not imputable for the failure to provide certificates for their nationality relinquishment and who have written supporting documentation approved by the Mainland Affairs Council, it says.
The bill also stipulates penalties for candidates of electoral posts for public office who are found to hold dual nationality after the candidate list is announced.
The Central Election Commission must revoke their registration as a candidate if the election has yet to take place, or a lawsuit would be filed to nullify electoral results if they have been elected, it says.
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