Lawmakers made a resolution yesterday that public officials holding dual citizenship should be removed from their positions -- an agreement reached after heated debate, triggered by the controversy surrounding the nationality of Hsiao Bi-khim (
Hsiao, a US citizen whose father is Taiwanese and whose mother is American, has been working closely with President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) as his adviser and translator. Opposition lawmakers have attacked the government regarding her employment, claiming that putting a foreigner in charge of national affairs is endangering the country's security.
When Director of the Cabinet's Central Personnel Administration Chu Wu-hsien (
"Then, the nature of Hsiao's work is in breach of the regulation that advisers should not be responsible for work that is highly confidential," Ying said.
KMT Legislator Kuo Su-chun (
Chu, appearing baffled, said that he had dealt with the employment of Hsiao in accordance with official documents filed by the personnel office of the Presidential Office, adding that he did not know all the details.
Unsatisfied with Chu's answers, attending lawmakers lashed out at Chu's negligence.
Facing the displeasure of the lawmakers, Chu replied by saying that he would be more careful in the future with similar cases.
After rounds of hot arguments between DPP and opposition lawmakers, they passed a resolution that all executive organizations should thoroughly investigate the background of their employees, and that those who retain dual citizenship should be removed from their posts.
Hsiao is currently overseas, and so could not be reached. But according to a press release she issued last Wednesday, she said she would abandon her US citizenship before she gets her ROC identification card, adding that she could not yet get her ROC identification card because, according to Taiwan's legal regulations, she had to stay in Taiwan continuously for one year to qualify to apply for a Taiwanese ID card.
Due to her work, Hsiao said, she had never stayed in Taiwan for more than a year, therefore, she could not file the application.
Lawmakers yesterday also questioned the validity of a regulation made by the Examination Yuan, which states that public officials with dual citizenship are required to forsake their citizenship of the other country within one year.
The regulation, merely a resolution made by members of the Examination Yuan, is not legally binding.
Moreover, it is in violation of Article 20 of the Nationality Law (
Article 20 of the Nationality law states that ROC citizens cannot become public officials if they become citizens of another country and that if they already hold a public post, they are to be removed from the position. Article 28 of the Civil Servants Employment Law says that those who are not ROC citizens are not allowed to serve as a ROC public servants.
DEATH THREAT: A MAC official said that it has urged Beijing to avoid creating barriers that would impede exchanges across the Strait, but it continues to do so People should avoid unnecessary travel to China after Beijing issued 22 guidelines allowing its courts to try in absentia and sentence to death “Taiwan independence separatists,” the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday as it raised its travel alert for China, including Hong Kong and Macau, to “orange.” The guidelines published last week “severely threaten the personal safety of Taiwanese traveling to China, Hong Kong and Macau,” MAC Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) told a news conference in Taipei. “Following a comprehensive assessment, the government considers it necessary to elevate the travel alert to orange from yellow,” Liang said. Beijing has
Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) yesterday said that the Chinese Communist Party was planning and implementing “major” reforms, ahead of a political conclave that is expected to put economic recovery high on the agenda. Chinese policymakers have struggled to reignite growth since late 2022, when restrictions put in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic were lifted. The world’s second-largest economy is beset by a debt crisis in the property sector, persistently low consumption and high unemployment among young people. Policymakers “are planning and implementing major measures to further deepen reform in a comprehensive manner,” Xi said in a speech at the Great Hall
CIVIL DEFENSE: More reservists in alternative service would help establish a sound civil defense system for use in wartime and during natural disasters, Kuma Academy’s CEO said While a total of 120,000 reservists are expected to be called up for alternative reserve drills this year, compared with the 6,505 drilled last year, the number has been revised to 58,000 due to a postponed training date, Deputy Minster of the Interior Ma Shih-yuan (馬士元) said. In principle, the ministry still aims to call up 120,000 reservists for alternative reserve drills next year, he said, but the actual number would not be decided later until after this year’s evaluation. The increase follows a Legislative Yuan request that the Ministry of the Interior address low recruitment rates, which it made while reviewing
SOLUTIONS NEEDED: Taiwan must attract about 400,000 to 500,000 skilled foreign workers due to population decline, the minister of economic affairs said in Washington President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration is considering a plan to import labor to deal with an impending shortage of engineers and other highly skilled workers, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said in Washington on Tuesday. Kuo was leading a delegation attending the SelectUSA Investment Summit. Taiwan must attract about 400,000 to 500,000 skilled foreign workers for high-end manufacturing jobs by 2040, he said. Ministry of Economic Affairs officials are still calculating the precise number of workers that are needed, as it works on loosening immigration restrictions and creating incentives, Kuo said. Taiwanese firms operating factories in the US and other countries would