A small number of Taiwanese this year lost their citizenship rights after traveling in China and obtaining a one-time Chinese passport to cross the border into Russia, a source said today.
The people signed up through Chinese travel agencies for tours of neighboring Russia with companies claiming they could obtain Russian visas and fast-track border clearance, the source said on condition of anonymity.
The travelers were actually issued one-time-use Chinese passports, they said.
Photo: Taipei Times
Taiwanese are prohibited from holding a Chinese passport or household registration. If found to have a Chinese ID, they may lose their resident status under Article 9-1 of 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).
Holding a Chinese passport renders Taiwanese unable to vote in elections, recalls and referendums, to serve in the military or hold public office, and their household registration in Taiwan would be canceled by their household registration office.
Of those who lost their status this year, most were reported by others or investigated by authorities.
The National Immigration Agency warned citizens not to obtain temporary Chinese passports in order to cross China’s borders into neighboring countries.
The agency said that upon receiving reports from other agencies or the public that a Taiwanese citizen holds a Chinese passport, household registration, ID card or residence permit, it would verify the information according to the Administrative Procedure Act (行政程序法).
It would then notify the person to provide an explanation and refer the case to their household registration office, it said.
On Nov. 3, the Ministry of the Interior implemented new amendments to the Act on Restoring Taiwanese Citizenship to Chinese Citizens in Taiwan (在台原有戶籍大陸地區人民申請回復台灣地區人民身分許可辦法) that would further tighten restrictions for Taiwanese residents of China from regaining citizenship.
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