A Chinese spouse who is set to begin working at the National Health Insurance Administration (NHIA) cannot be in a position involving national security or classified information, a national security official said yesterday.
The official, who declined to be named, made the remarks after the NHIA consulted the Mainland Affairs Council on how to handle the appointment of the Chinese spouse who passed the national civil examination.
Article 21 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) states that people with Chinese nationality must have household registration in Taiwan for 10 years to be qualified to take the civil service exam, hold public office, teach or work at a state-owned enterprises, the official said.
Photo: Chung Li-hua, Taipei Times
However, Article 28 of the Civil Service Employment Act (公務人員任用法) stipulates that a person holding Republic of China nationality and a foreign nationality, but are unable to renounce their foreign nationality or obtain the necessary supporting documentation that they have — due to foreign laws that prohibit such renunciation — are not necessarily disqualified from becoming civil servants, they said.
They can still become civil servants if they are able to renounce their foreign nationality in accordance with the rules prior to assuming office, and provided written evidence verified by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the official said.
However, their appointments would be limited to agencies and positions that do not involve national security or sensitive information, they said.
Based on the regulations, the Chinese spouse in question is still eligible for a position at the NHIA, but must be assigned to duties that do not involve classified information, they said.
Regarding concerns that China might use Chinese spouses to infiltrate the National Health Insurance database, the official said that government agencies must make sure that the worker only handles nonclassified data to protect national secrets.
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