The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday said it has ordered overseas representative offices to check whether any presidential and vice presidential candidates hold a foreign nationality, following a request from the Central Electoral Commission (CEC).
The verification process is currently taking place, and the results would be provided to the CEC upon completion, MOFA spokesman Jeff Liu (劉永健) told reporters in Taipei.
Liu said the verification to ascertain whether a candidate holds another nationality is a long-standing practice before every election, as no one running for public office is allowed to hold another nationality.
Photo: Liao Chen-hui, Taipei Times
Every presidential and vice presidential candidate, namely the Democratic Progressive Party’s William Lai (賴清德) and Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴), the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) Hou You-yi (侯友宜) and Jaw Shaw-kong (趙少康), and the Taiwan People’s Party’s (TPP) Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) and Cynthia Wu (吳欣盈), signed nationality verification consent forms when they registered, the CEC said.
The CEC sent an official request to MOFA on Monday, along with candidates’ signed forms, to help verify if any of them hold another nationality.
This process comes amid allegations that Wu, a TPP lawmaker, still holds US nationality after reports appeared in local media.
The KMT and DPP have since asked Wu to provide proof to clarify her nationality status.
Wu told reporters on Wednesday that she had renounced her US citizenship “years ago” when she returned to Taiwan after years of working in the US.
She added that the CEC and Legislative Yuan carried out checks on her nationality status when she became a lawmaker last year.
Wu is the daughter of former Shin Kong Financial Holding Co chairman Eugene Wu (吳東進) and previously worked at the company as vice president.
The Legislative Yuan yesterday said that although incoming lawmakers are asked to sign an affidavit confirming they do not have a second nationality, it has never investigated further.
An American Institute in Taiwan spokesperson declined to comment “due to privacy reasons,” and referred the reporter to “Cynthia Wu or the TPP for additional information.”
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