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Election news update
DPP presidential candidate Lai Ching-te is rejecting charges that the election would heighten the risk of war with China. Lai emphasizes his commitment to "peace through strength" and "standing with the democratic camp" to deter Beijing will minimize the chances of a cross-strait conflict.
Lai says while Taiwan should be open to "being friends with China," national security and peace cannot depend on Beijing's goodwill alone...and should not come at the price of the island's sovereignty.
The DPP 2024 hopeful also says that he is willing to engage in exchanges and cooperation with China based on the interests and well-being of people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait. However, he's also stressing that should be done only on the basis of reciprocity and dignity, and not by accepting the "1992 consensus."
The statements come after KMT presidential candidate Hou Yu-ih warned that Lai's position as a "pragmatic worker for Taiwanese independence" would lead to war with China.
Meanwhile, the Mainland Affairs Council says that all China-born individuals are required to renounce their Chinese citizenship if elected to public office.
The statement comes as the Taiwan People's Party is reportedly considering nominating Shanghai-born Xu Chun-ying (徐春鶯) as one of its legislator-at-large candidates in the January 2024 legislative elections. Xu has lived in Taiwan for 30 years and been a citizen for 23 years. The Mainland Affairs Council says as the Act Governing Relations between Peoples of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area does not cover the issue of naturalized Taiwanese citizens participating in elections or holding other office, and other laws must apply.
The council is citing Article 20 of the Nationality Act as the law defining Xu's case. That article states that ROC nationals holding dual citizenship are required to start the process to renounce their foreign citizenship before assuming a civil servant position.
However, Xu and those like her, are unable to fulfil that process. As Taiwan and China do not recognize each other as independent sovereign countries, there is no mechanism for China-born nationals to renounce their Chinese citizenship even after they've obtained Taiwan citizenship.
