Former NBA player Jeremy Lin (林書豪), a Taiwanese-American, has become a Republic of China (ROC) citizen and received an ROC passport, raising hopes among basketball fans that the 32-year-old might make the national basketball team.
Taipei City Councilor Chung Hsiao-ping (鍾小平), an independent, yesterday confirmed that he had accompanied Lin’s father and Lin’s agent when the father went to apply for Lin’s ROC passport.
“He [Lin] is very willing to represent Taiwan in international games,” Chung said.
Photo courtesy of Taipei City Councilor Chung Hsiao-ping
Chung said that he, Lin’s father and Lin’s agent visited the Ministry of the Interior (MOI) in Taipei to express their gratitude to Minister of the Interior Hsu Kuo-yung (徐國勇) after receiving the passport.
The California-born Lin, a Harvard University graduate who became the first Taiwanese-American to play in the NBA when he was signed by the Golden State Warriors in 2010, made headline news in 2011 and 2012 when as a point guard he helped led the New York Knicks to a series of wins, starting a phenomenon that became known as “Linsanity.”
He is eligible for ROC citizenship because both of his parents were born and raised in Taiwan.
Lin, who has had a journeyman’s career in the NBA, received an NBA championship ring last year as a member of the Toronto Raptors.
In August last, Lin signed with the Beijing Ducks of the Chinese Basketball Association and was instrumental in leading the team to the semi-finals in the 2019-2020 CBA league playoffs that began last month.
Lin had an average of 22.4 points per round, 5.6 rebounds and 5.6 assists during his time with the Ducks.
Lin told Chinese reporters that he would “take a break” before deciding whether he to renew his contract with the Ducks.
The Chinese-language United Daily News yesterday reported that the interior ministry responded to the news of Lin getting an ROC passport by saying that it was the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that issues passports.
If Lin, who does not have a household residency in Taiwan, had applied for an ROC passport, he would have had to follow procedures, although there is a special provision that would allow him to keep his ROC citizenship even if he entered and left the nation multiple times in a year, the interior ministry said.
If Lin wanted to apply for residency, it would observe the same regulations that it follows to help citizens without household registries in this nation, although he would likely be approved according to rules covering the granting of residency to “high-level professionals,” the interior ministry said.
Additional reporting by CNA
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
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
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
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