New Party Deputy Secretary-General You Chih-pin (游智彬) this morning went to the National Immigration Agency (NIA) to “turn himself in” after being notified that he had failed to provide proof of having renounced his Chinese household registration.
He was one of more than 10,000 naturalized Taiwanese citizens from China who were informed by the NIA that their Taiwanese citizenship might be revoked if they fail to provide the proof in three months, people familiar with the matter said.
You said he has proof that he had renounced his Chinese household registration and demanded the NIA provide proof that he still had Chinese household registration in 24 hours, questioning whether the NIA had lost his documents.
Photo: Wang Kuan-jen, Taipei Times
He vowed to sue President William Lai (賴清德), Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) and NIA director Chung Ching-kun (鐘景琨) tomorrow, accusing the authorities of leaking his information to media outlets.
“I now declare war with the NIA,” he said.
He said the NIA has become a political tool to create domestic enemies for the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).
He said he had fulfilled his duty as a Taiwanese citizen by having served in the military and paying tax, but he is now being deprived of his civil rights by the DPP.
An official said You was born in Zhangpu County, Fujian province, in 1983.
He was granted residency in 1995 and obtained Taiwanese citizenship before Taiwan promulgated amendments to the law that require naturalized citizens born in China to legally renounce their household registration in China in 2004, the source said.
Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Deputy Minister Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) later today confirmed that You had gone to China to get the required proof after being notified by the NIA.
This implies that You values his Taiwanese citizenship, Liang said, and wishes to stay in Taiwan.
Besides You, several high-profile Chinese spouses who applied for household registration in Taiwan before 2004 also went back to China to get the required proof of renunciation after being notified by the NIA recently, Liang said.
MAC received reports on You about this issue before the NIA took the recent action, Liang said.
MAC would pass the case to the NIA after receiving reports, he said.
The NIA today earlier said You had not submitted proof, urging him to provide the relevant documents as soon as possible.
The NIA has notified about 10,000 naturalized Taiwanese citizens from China to provide this proof.
The NIA said it would coordinate with the MAC and the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) — a semi-official organization tasked by Taiwan's government with handling technical matters involving China — to provide assistance with relevant government bodies should these citizens encounter any difficulties.
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) said the NIA should suspend and review this move in a press conference today.
The KMT urged the government “not to rule the country with ideology” and not to “bully” certain communities with administrative means.
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