None of the candidates in the March 22 election is a citizen of the US or Japan, the Central Election Commission (CEC) said yesterday afternoon.
"The commission has received a response from the American Institute in Taiwan stating that none of the candidates -- Frank Hsieh (謝長廷), Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) or Vincent Siew (蕭萬長) -- appears to be a US citizen based on US citizen and immigration records," a CEC statement said.
Hsieh is the Democratic Progressive Party's presidential candidate and Su is his running mate while Ma and Siew represent the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT).
The commission was unable to check with the Japanese government because of laws that preclude such inquiries and also because the commission didn't provide Japanese household registration documents.
"Japanese naturalization regulations require [an applicant] renouncing his or her original citizenship before being granted Japanese citizenship," the statement said. "We confirmed with the Ministry of the Interior [in Taipei] that all four are Republic of China citizens and therefore cannot be Japanese citizens."
In late January, Hsieh's campaign accused Ma of holding a US green card, and later provided alleged details of his green card. Ma said he once held a green card but no longer does because it had expired. Hsieh insists that Ma's green card is still valid. Some politicians and commentators have speculated that Ma may even be a US citizen.
"With help from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, we sent out inquiries on Feb. 25 ? to the US, Japan and the UK," the commission statement said.
Replies from Japan and the US came last Friday, CEC chairman Chang Cheng-hsiung (張政雄) said during a question-and-answer session at the legislature's Home and Nations Committee, and the UK was to reply soon.
Approached for comment during a trip to Pingtung County, Ma said he had already clarified the issue: "I said on Jan. 28 that I do not hold citizenship of the US or any other foreign country."
However, the Hsieh camp said last night that the commission had only asked about Ma's citizenship status in the US, not his green card or permanent residency status. Hsieh spokesman Cheng Wen-tsang (鄭文燦) urged Ma to offer a clear account on whether he ever had US permanent residency, whether it was still valid or when exactly it was invalidated.
"The people have the right to know," Cheng said. "It is also a matter of honesty. Ma has offered different accounts since we raised the matter."
Additional reporting by Mo Yan-chih and Ko Shu-ling
Also see: Presidential election 2008: Hsieh pans KMT's China deals
Super Typhoon Kong-rey is the largest cyclone to impact Taiwan in 27 years, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said today. Kong-rey’s radius of maximum wind (RMW) — the distance between the center of a cyclone and its band of strongest winds — has expanded to 320km, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said. The last time a typhoon of comparable strength with an RMW larger than 300km made landfall in Taiwan was Typhoon Herb in 1996, he said. Herb made landfall between Keelung and Suao (蘇澳) in Yilan County with an RMW of 350km, Chang said. The weather station in Alishan (阿里山) recorded 1.09m of
STORM’S PATH: Kong-Rey could be the first typhoon to make landfall in Taiwan in November since Gilda in 1967. Taitung-Green Island ferry services have been halted Tropical Storm Kong-rey is forecast to strengthen into a typhoon early today and could make landfall in Taitung County between late Thursday and early Friday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, Kong-Rey was 1,030km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), the nation’s southernmost point, and was moving west at 7kph. The tropical storm was packing maximum sustained winds of 101kph, with gusts of up to 126 kph, CWA data showed. After landing in Taitung, the eye of the storm is forecast to move into the Taiwan Strait through central Taiwan on Friday morning, the agency said. With the storm moving
NO WORK, CLASS: President William Lai urged people in the eastern, southern and northern parts of the country to be on alert, with Typhoon Kong-rey approaching Typhoon Kong-rey is expected to make landfall on Taiwan’s east coast today, with work and classes canceled nationwide. Packing gusts of nearly 300kph, the storm yesterday intensified into a typhoon and was expected to gain even more strength before hitting Taitung County, the US Navy’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center said. The storm is forecast to cross Taiwan’s south, enter the Taiwan Strait and head toward China, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The CWA labeled the storm a “strong typhoon,” the most powerful on its scale. Up to 1.2m of rainfall was expected in mountainous areas of eastern Taiwan and destructive winds are likely
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday at 5:30pm issued a sea warning for Typhoon Kong-rey as the storm drew closer to the east coast. As of 8pm yesterday, the storm was 670km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻) and traveling northwest at 12kph to 16kph. It was packing maximum sustained winds of 162kph and gusts of up to 198kph, the CWA said. A land warning might be issued this morning for the storm, which is expected to have the strongest impact on Taiwan from tonight to early Friday morning, the agency said. Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼) and Green Island (綠島) canceled classes and work
RSS