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DPP’s Tsai urges
foreign residency checks on officials
By Vincent Y. Chao / Staff Reporter
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday said
that the Ministry of the Interior should take its checks of whether candidates
and officials hold foreign citizenship one step further to see if any hold
foreign residency.
At an anti-corruption campaign event in the morning, the DPP presidential
candidate said the information should be made public so voters have a better
picture about their choices ahead of the January presidential election.
TRANSPARENCY
“I think that foreign residency should also be made more transparent and
included [in the checks],” Tsai said.
It’s necessary to look into not only this, but also whether they held any
previously so that voters can be better make up their minds,” she said.
Her comments are unlikely to be welcomed by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT),
whose officials are eager to downplay the fact that President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九)
once held a US green card.
NEGATIVE TACTICS
KMT spokesperson Lai Su-ju (賴素如) said yesterday that continued discussion about
Ma’s previous residency status was a “negative campaign tactic” that had not
worked when the DPP used it in the 2008 presidential campaign.
“We hope that everyone can talk about beef, about more policies,” she said.
LAW CHANGE
Tsai’s remarks come in the wake of an announcement by the ministry on Saturday
that election laws would be amended so that a foreign citizenship check on
presidential candidates would be mandatory.
The Executive Yuan is expected to approval the proposal, which does not have to
go through the legislative process.
DPP spokesperson Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) said on Saturday that the requirement should
also be extended to cover the candidate’s immediate family, in an apparent
reference to one of Ma’s two daughters.
The DPP fully supports the ministry’s decision, Chen said.
Ma’s eldest daughter, Lesley (馬唯中), reportedly held US citizenship at one point,
but it is not clear whether she still does.
STUDIED ABROAD
Both Ma and Tsai studied in the US. Tsai has dodged questions on whether she
once held a US green card, but Ma has been forced to defend his remarks that his
US residency status was invalidated years ago.
Elected officials are barred from holding citizenship in other countries.
Lawmakers have seen their election results revoked in the past over the matter.
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