The National Immigration Agency (NIA) yesterday said it has notified a “minority” of Chinese immigrants in Taiwan to renounce their citizenship.
The agency’s statement came hours after the Chinese-language United Daily News reported that the notifications have sparked panic among Chinese immigrants married to Taiwanese nationals.
In a news release, the agency said that a majority of naturalized citizens from China had submitted proof that they had renounced their Chinese citizenship.
Photo: Taipei Times
However, a small number have failed to do so, the agency said, adding that in most cases, they were unable to travel to China due to the COVID-19 pandemic or other issues.
Chinese residents must provide officials with proof that they have canceled their household registration in China within three months of the receipt of a notice from the agency or the government would cancel their household registration in Taiwan, the agency said.
However, they can apply for long-term residency in Taiwan again based on regulations governing Chinese nationals seeking permanent residency based on family relations, it said.
In the same way, the government bans Taiwanese from concurrently holding household registrations in China, based on the 2004 amendments 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), it said.
Those who encounter difficulties obtaining the required documents renouncing Chinese citizenship or who might have lost their records can seek the assistance of the immigration agency, which would liaise with the Mainland Affairs Council and the Straits Exchange Foundation to deal with these issues, it said.
The government is fully committed to protecting the rights and privileges of foreign-born citizens who are loyal and abide by the law, the agency said.
Recipients of the immigration agency notices have little to worry about if their problems stem from paperwork or red tape, so long as they follow the process, it added.
Separately, Mainland Affairs Council Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said on the sidelines of a legislative session that Taiwanese law requires Chinese to give up their citizenship and household registration in China to become Taiwanese nationals.
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
Tropical Storm Fung-Wong would likely strengthen into a typhoon later today as it continues moving westward across the Pacific before heading in Taiwan’s direction next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 8am, Fung-Wong was about 2,190km east-southeast of Cape Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving westward at 25kph and possibly accelerating to 31kph, CWA data showed. The tropical storm is currently over waters east of the Philippines and still far from Taiwan, CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said, adding that it could likely strengthen into a typhoon later in the day. It is forecast to reach the South China Sea
WEATHER Typhoon forming: CWA A tropical depression is expected to form into a typhoon as early as today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, adding that the storm’s path remains uncertain. Before the weekend, it would move toward the Philippines, the agency said. Some time around Monday next week, it might reach a turning point, either veering north toward waters east of Taiwan or continuing westward across the Philippines, the CWA said. Meanwhile, the eye of Typhoon Kalmaegi was 1,310km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, as of 2am yesterday, it said. The storm is forecast to move through central
Almost a quarter of volunteer soldiers who signed up from 2021 to last year have sought early discharge, the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center said in a report. The report said that 12,884 of 52,674 people who volunteered in the period had sought an early exit from the military, returning NT$895.96 million (US$28.86 million) to the government. In 2021, there was a 105.34 percent rise in the volunteer recruitment rate, but the number has steadily declined since then, missing recruitment targets, the Chinese-language United Daily News said, citing the report. In 2021, only 521 volunteers dropped out of the military, the report said, citing
RSS