The government considers Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) legislator-at-large nominee Li Zhenxiu (李貞秀), who is a Chinese citizen, not eligible to be a lawmaker, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said yesterday.
Liu made the remarks on the sidelines of a Legislative Yuan meeting, telling reporters that she stood by her comment the previous day that Taiwan “recognizes” China as a foreign nation.
The TPP has tapped Lee as a possible replacement for one of the party’s two legislators-at-large in line with founder and former chairman Ko Wen-je’s (柯文哲) promise that these seats would change hands every two years.
Photo: Chen Yi-kuan, Taipei Times
Liu said the law forbids officials from holding citizenship in any nation other than Taiwan, spurring TPP response that China is legally defined as the “Mainland area,” not a state.
The People’s Republic of China (PRC) is a foreign nation, and Taiwan and China are independent and equal nations, she said.
Elected officials, who must swear loyalty to the nation before assuming office, are not allowed to have dual citizenship, she said.
Li could become a lawmaker by renouncing her Chinese citizenship and presenting Straits Exchange Foundation-certified proof within a year of assuming office, she said.
Liu also clarified what she meant when she said on Monday that Taiwan “recognizes” the PRC, a day after she triggered a political backlash.
Ma Ying-jeou Foundation director Hsiao Hsu-tsen (蕭旭岑) said Liu made an unconstitutional remarks and should resign.
Liu said her comment the day before was made “from the standpoint of the government of the Republic of China (ROC)” — referring to Taiwan’s official name — and focused on how the Ministry of the Interior applies the law.
“Foreign nationals, including Chinese nationals,” must renounce foreign nationality to hold public office in Taiwan, she said.
If the renunciation of PRC nationality is recognized by the Straits Exchange Foundation, a semi-official organization that handles interactions between Taiwan and China, the government would “recognize it as a valid official document,” she said.
“To serve in public office, one must be loyal to a single country: the ROC,” she said
Asked whether the PRC is considered a country according to the Constitution, Liu said that “the ROC and the PRC are not subordinate to each other.”
The government “recognizes” the PRC insofar as it recognizes PRC documents, including those issued by the Beijing-affiliated Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits, as “effective legal documents.”
The minister also commented on the dismissal from office of Deng Wanhua (鄧萬華), who was the warden of Syuetian Village (學田) in Hualien County’s Fuli Township (富里), for holding PRC nationality.
The eligibility of PRC-born spouses of Taiwanese to run for office is regulated by 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) and the Nationality Act (國籍法), she said.
Four other village wardens face similar issues, because they renounced their household registration too late, possibly due to “limited understanding of the law.”
She urged local governments to provide legal guidance in such circumstances.
Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said that Taiwan’s position “on the front line of geopolitics” requires a more active approach in handling cross-strait relations and peace in the Indo-Pacific region.
He said that “if both sides — the PRC and the ROC — can face the reality of each other’s existence and even legal equality, it will help promote peace.”
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