The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) uses all sorts of innovative techniques to spy on officials of foreign countries. It is well known that Chinese spies are everywhere. Now, Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman and presidential candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) wants to have Xu Chunying (徐春鶯) on the party’s list of legislator-at-large nominees. Xu is a Chinese immigrant and an advocate for foreign-born spouses. It is alleged that Xu was a CCP cadre. Generally speaking, every Chinese citizen’s duty is to collect intelligence and information for their home country.
Even though Xu claims that she is not a CCP member and even if she has given up her Chinese citizenship, when she goes back to China, the CCP is sure to contact her and give her tasks. Xu’s family is still in China. Xu’s ideology and national identity would require her to collect information for the CCP while expanding China’s organizations in Taiwan. Would the Legislative Yuan be able to monitor such behavior?
According to the laws on cross-strait relations, Taiwan and China do not recognize each other as sovereign countries. However, both sides acknowledge one another’s jurisdiction, using “mainland” and “Taiwan region” as references. Therefore, when a Chinese from the People’s Republic of China (PRC) marries a Taiwanese, they become a citizen of the Republic of China (ROC), without having to renounce their original PRC citizenship.
The problem is that under the Constitution, the PRC is not a sovereign country; rather, the PRC is unrealistically and absurdly described as an “enemy-occupied area.” In this sense, citizens of the PRC are also considered the people of the ROC.
Xu has been doing “united front” work for China. When she participated in the 19th National Congress of the CCP, she made remarks showing her support for the unification of China and Taiwan. These are her true colors. Even though she has renounced her PRC citizenship, it is unclear whether she has become a true Taiwanese.
We do not know if she could keep national secrets should she become a legislator. We cannot be sure if she would stop doing “united front” work for China. We must ask Xu: If she were elected as a legislator, how would she deal with China’s Anti-Secession Law?
China has been trying to annex Taiwan, which makes China a hostile country. Ko said that as long as Xu is not engaged with foreign affairs, everything would be fine. Is that so?
All kinds of policies in Taiwan are related to China. The Ministry of the Interior holds documents and information about Taiwan’s land administration and household registration. Other agencies such as the Coast Guard Administration, the Mainland Affairs Council and the National Immigration Agency also have much to do with China. Should Xu become a legislator, she would be able to check every document as she sees fit, including all sorts of confidential information about trade and vaccines.
According to Ko, if a person like Xu, who holds a Taiwanese ID card, is deprived of their political rights by having their right to stand as a legislator denied, Taiwan cannot be considered a country run according to the rule of law. However, it is only natural to prioritize a state’s national security. To prevent all traces of enemy infiltration, we must restrict a Chinese married to a Taiwanese from entering the Legislative Yuan.
During World War II, the US, a democratic country, put all Japanese-American citizens into internment camps. Given that the US was at war with Japan, all Japanese-Americans were under surveillance and supervised collectively by US officials.
Today, the situation in the Taiwan Strait is close to a defense readiness condition. Chinese citizens should never be allowed into the Legislative Yuan.
Chu Meng-hsiang is former deputy secretary-general of the Lee Teng-hui Foundation.
Translated by Emma Liu
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