Earlier last month, the Interior Ministry nullified former Nantou City councilor Shi Xueyan’s (史雪燕) status as a public official, citing her failure to prove that she had renounced her Chinese citizenship before taking office. Her dismissal has triggered a debate on whether Chinese citizens should be allowed to participate in Taiwanese politics.
The KMT caucus held a press conference on Thursday debating the government’s use of the Nationality Act, which states that an individual with foreign citizenship who is elected to public office is required to renounce their citizenship before being sworn into their term of service. The KMT believes the government has used the Nationality Act to override the Act Governing Relations between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area. This act, also known as the Cross-Strait Act, allows Chinese citizens to become naturalized Taiwanese citizens after they annul their Chinese household registration.
KMT legislators criticized the ministry’s move as potentially unconstitutional, pointing out that in the case of Chinese nationals, the Cross-Strait Act should override the Nationality Act. In response, DPP legislators argued that Taiwan’s Nationality Act applies to anyone with dual nationality. They pointed to Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴), who renounced her American citizenship in order to run for office, as an example, saying that mainland citizens should not be exceptions to the rule.
The Interior Ministry specified that annulling Chinese household registration should not be conflated with renouncing Chinese citizenship, as these are two separate legal matters. As Shi failed to produce documentation confirming her renunciation of Chinese citizenship in a timely manner, she was removed from her post as councilor per the stipulations of the Nationality Act.