Taiwan’s main opposition party Kuomintang (KMT) has launched a drive to change the law so that people born on the Chinese mainland and who are married to Taiwanese citizens can hold public office.
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The move – almost certain to clear the opposition-controlled legislature – has triggered an intense debate over the island’s security and identity.
At the centre is a KMT proposal to amend both the Nationality Act and the Act Governing Relations between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area.
Under the amendments, mainland-born spouses who have lived in Taiwan long enough to obtain local ID cards would not be barred from political participation simply because they could not provide proof they had renounced their mainland citizenship – something that is impossible to do in practice.
Beijing does not issue the necessary documents because it considers Taiwan as part of China and views the island’s residents as its own citizens.
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The push gained momentum after a high-profile case in which Teng Wan-hua, a mainland-born village chief in Hualien county, was removed from office by the interior ministry for failing to produce documents proving she had renounced her previous citizenship.