Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Diane Lee (李慶安) threatened to sue Chinese-language Next Magazine yesterday following allegations that the government had received a response from the US proving she still had US citizenship.
Lee reiterated that she had lost her US citizenship after she returned to Taiwan to serve as a public official.
“The content [of the story] was completely false. It was a fabrication. It has seriously confused the public. As a result, I will file a lawsuit,” she told reporters.
PHOTO: CHANG CHIA-MING, TAIPEI TIMES
Lee’s lawyer Chang Yuan-hsiao (張元宵) said Section 349(A)(4) of the US Immigration and Nationality Act would prove Lee’s claim because a US citizen loses his or her citizenship if he or she serves as a public official in another country or takes an oath of allegiance to another country in relation to a government post.
The latest edition of Next — which hit newsstands yesterday — claimed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had received confirmation from the US that Lee still held US citizenship.
In its March 12 edition, Next claimed Lee possessed dual citizenship, a claim she denied.
DENIAL
She said she obtained permanent residency in the US in 1985 and citizenship in 1991, but later gave up her citizenship.
Article 20 of the Nationality Law (國籍法), which took effect on June 20, 2001, states that foreign citizens are prohibited from holding government office.
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus reported Lee’s case to the Taipei Prosecutors’ Office for investigation after the Next article in March.
Lee would have to return her salary as a Taipei City council from 1994 to 1998 and as a legislator since 1998 — estimated at NT$100 million (US$3.2 million) — if the allegation is true.
She would also lose her job as a legislator, forcing a by-election in Taipei City’s sixth district.
KMT caucus deputy secretary-general Chang Hsien-yao (張顯耀) said the caucus’ attitude toward the issue is clear, it would handle the matter according to the law.
KMT Legislator John Chiang (蔣孝嚴) urged the party to resolve the issue and nominate a candidate for the by-election as soon as possible.
Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) said that the legislature was still waiting for the results of the judicial investigation into Lee’s nationality status.
Wang, a KMT member, vowed to handle the results according to the law and rebuffed media speculation that he would not act impartially.
KMT'S POSITION
KMT Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung (吳伯雄) said Lee had told him that she had cancelled her US citizenship and he trusted her word.
Wu said the KMT would respect the judicial system’s decision and it did not have the authority to handle any problems concerning Lee’s citizenship.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs denied it had sought help from the US to verifying Lee’s status. Ministry Spokeswoman Phoebe Yeh (葉非比) said it was never asked by any government agency to approach the US about the issue.
MOFA
“We did receive a request from a particular party last week. But since the party was not authorized to deal with this issue, we did not heed the request,” she said.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators urged Wang to clear up the matter.
“We request Wang solve this problem as soon as possible. Stop trying to cover it up for the KMT,” DPP deputy whip Pan Meng-an (潘孟安) said.
Another DPP deputy whip, Legislator Chiu Yi-ying (邱議瑩), said the caucus had filed a request with Wang in March to investigate Lee’s nationality but Wang had ignored the request.
“President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) promised the public that he would strictly adhere to the law. I think it is time for him to prove it,” Chiu said.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY JENNY W. HSU,
MO YAN-CHIH AND JIMMY CHUANG
CHANGING LANDSCAPE: Many of the part-time programs for educators were no longer needed, as many teachers obtain a graduate degree before joining the workforce, experts said Taiwanese universities this year canceled 86 programs, Ministry of Education data showed, with educators attributing the closures to the nation’s low birthrate as well as shifting trends. Fifty-three of the shuttered programs were part-time postgraduate degree programs, about 62 percent of the total, the most in the past five years, the data showed. National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) discontinued the most part-time master’s programs, at 16: chemistry, life science, earth science, physics, fine arts, music, special education, health promotion and health education, educational psychology and counseling, education, design, Chinese as a second language, library and information sciences, mechatronics engineering, history, physical education
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) yesterday appealed to the authorities to release former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) from pretrial detention amid conflicting reports about his health. The TPP at a news conference on Thursday said that Ko should be released to a hospital for treatment, adding that he has blood in his urine and had spells of pain and nausea followed by vomiting over the past three months. Hsieh Yen-yau (謝炎堯), a retired professor of internal medicine and Ko’s former teacher, said that Ko’s symptoms aligned with gallstones, kidney inflammation and potentially dangerous heart conditions. Ko, charged with
RSS