Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Wu Yu-sheng (吳育昇) yesterday dismissed media speculation that his proposed amendment targeting government officials over foreign residency could put President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) in an uncomfortable position.
“Ma’s US green card has been invalidated. He does not have either a green card or dual citizenship,” Wu told reporters. “The proposed amendment has nothing to do with Ma.”
Despite objections from the Ministry of the Interior, the Legislative Yuan’s Internal Administration Committee on Monday completed a preliminary review of a proposed amendment to the Nationality Act (國籍法), barring anyone with permanent residency status in another country from holding public office.
“Barring officials from holding foreign residency has symbolic implications on his or her loyalty to this country. [The amendment] is a way to enhance public trust in the government,” said Wu, who presided over Monday’s meeting.
The current version of the Nationality Act only prohibits people with citizenship in another country from serving in office.
The proposed amendment, however, prompted concerns within political circles, as Ma would be required to present documents proving the loss of his green card if the amendment cleared the legislature.
During the presidential campaign last year, Democratic Progressive Party presidential candidate Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) alleged that Ma still possessed a green card.
Ma said his green card, which he obtained in the 1970s, was automatically invalidated when he applied for a US visa in 1985.
He has never made the Abandonment of Alien Status as a Lawful Permanent Resident form (I-407), or any other evidence, public.
KMT Legislator Lo Shu-lei (羅淑蕾) said every government official should abide by the amendment if it was adopted.
“Even the president must follow the law,” Lo said.
KMT Legislator Chen Hsiu-ching (陳秀卿) opposed the proposal, however, saying the ban could discourage overseas talent from serving in government.
During a question-and-answer session with Chen, Premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄) said he was in favor of barring political appointees and senior Cabinet officials from holding residency in another country, but said he had reservations as to whether the restriction should apply to ordinary public officials.
Minister of the Interior Liao Liou-yi (廖了以) said the ministry had not probed the foreign residency status of all public officials.
He said a study of the impact of the proposed amendment would have to be prepared before the second and third readings of the bill.
The Taipei City Government yesterday said contractors organizing its New Year’s Eve celebrations would be held responsible after a jumbo screen played a Beijing-ran television channel near the event’s end. An image showing China Central Television (CCTV) Channel 3 being displayed was posted on the social media platform Threads, sparking an outcry on the Internet over Beijing’s alleged political infiltration of the municipal government. A Taipei Department of Information and Tourism spokesman said event workers had made a “grave mistake” and that the Television Broadcasts Satellite (TVBS) group had the contract to operate the screens. The city would apply contractual penalties on TVBS
National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology (NKUST) yesterday promised it would increase oversight of use of Chinese in course materials, following a social media outcry over instances of simplified Chinese characters being used, including in a final exam. People on Threads wrote that simplified Chinese characters were used on a final exam and in a textbook for a translation course at the university, while the business card of a professor bore the words: “Taiwan Province, China.” Photographs of the exam, the textbook and the business card were posted with the comments. NKUST said that other members of the faculty did not see
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The lowest temperature in a low-lying area recorded early yesterday morning was in Miaoli County’s Gongguan Township (公館), at 6.8°C, due to a strong cold air mass and the effect of radiative cooling, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. In other areas, Chiayi’s East District (東區) recorded a low of 8.2°C and Yunlin County’s Huwei Township (虎尾) recorded 8.5°C, CWA data showed. The cold air mass was at its strongest from Saturday night to the early hours of yesterday. It brought temperatures down to 9°C to 11°C in areas across the nation and the outlying Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties,
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