The family of basketball sensation Jeremy Lin (林書豪), who announced he would visit Taiwan to take part in a basketball camp after the NBA season wraps up, is adamant that he is of Taiwanese heritage, the New York Times reported yesterday.
Lin Chi-chung (林繼宗), Jeremy Lin’s 63-year-old uncle, said in an interview in Taipei that there was no doubt that the Harvard--educated younger Lin, as well as his family, are Taiwanese.
“For sure, they are Taiwanese,” Lin Chi-chung said. “I spoke to Jeremy Lin’s father, who is my younger brother, and he said: ‘Make sure you point this out,’” he told the Times.
Photo: EPA
Both of Jeremy Lin’s parents were born in Taiwan and hold dual citizenship of the Republic of China (ROC) and the US, he said. Jeremy Lin was born in California and has US citizenship, but he has been offered dual citizenship in the ROC as well by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, his uncle said.
Lin’s uncle said he and Jeremy Lin’s father were eighth-generation descendants of immigrants from Fujian Province, China, who moved to Taiwan in 1707. They were part of a large wave of Fujian migration from which most of Taiwan’s current residents are descended, the Times wrote.
A senior official in Zhejiang Province, China, suggested over the weekend that Jeremy Lin’s ancestral home was there because his maternal grandmother grew up in the province before moving to Taiwan in the late 1940s.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman James Chang (章計平) yesterday said in response to media inquiries that there was no record of Jeremy Lin ever applying for ROC citizenship.
“We have checked with the Bureau of Consular Affairs. The government has never received an application from Jeremy Lin for ROC citizenship,” Chang said.
Even though Jeremy Lin has US citizenship, he is eligible for ROC citizenship because both of his parents retain ROC citizenship and because Taiwan allows dual citizenship, he said.
Chang denied that the ministry had offered Jeremy Lin ROC citizenship, saying it was up to the basketball star to apply for it.
Meanwhile, Jeremy Lin has said he plans to return to Taiwan after the NBA season to take part in a basketball camp in which he helped out last year.
Lin said on Wednesday, after helping lead the New York Knicks to a 100-85 victory over Sacramento, that he was looking forward to his trip to Asia.
“I have a strong passion for the game and a strong passion for Taiwan,” Lin said. “Last summer, it was one of the highlights of my summer, so I’m going to do it again.”
Knicks games have become an Internet sensation because of Lin, a former Knicks bench-warmer who was given a chance to play and responded with the most points in his first five starts of any NBA player since 1976.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source