TAIPEI (TVBS News) — The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC, 陸委會) on Thursday (Jan. 2) emphasized that Taiwan's Nationality Act (國籍法) requires public officials to renounce any foreign citizenship, sparking a debate over dual nationality regulations. This statement follows the Ministry of Interior's (MOI, 內政部) decision on Dec. 2, 2024, to dismiss Shih Hsueh-yen (史雪燕) from her position as a Nantou County councilor due to dual nationality violations.
The Kuomintang (KMT, 國民黨) legislative caucus held a press conference on Thursday, questioning the MOI's decision. They accused the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP, 民進黨) government of stripping 300,000 Chinese spouses of their political rights. MAC Deputy Minister and Spokesperson Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) reiterated that the Nationality Act mandates public officials to relinquish foreign citizenship, regardless of the country's recognition.
Liang emphasized that the law aims to prevent dual loyalty, citing that an Argentine national must also prove renouncing their citizenship to hold public office in Taiwan. He clarified that, according to the Immigration Act (入出國及移民法), only Taiwanese nationals with registered household status qualify as citizens of the Republic of China (ROC, 中華民國). Although past court rulings recognized mainland Chinese as ROC nationals, Liang noted that the Executive Yuan (行政院) has declared this interpretation obsolete.
The Executive Yuan issued a directive in May 2024 instructing all ministries to cease applying the interpretation that considers mainland Chinese to be ROC nationals.