Taiwanese with Chinese citizenship not exempt from conscription: Minister

Taipei, March 11 (CNA) Defense Minister Wellington Koo (顧立雄) said Tuesday that Taiwan citizens found to have Chinese nationality are still required to undertake the mandatory one-year military service, amid recent controversy surrounding a member of the Navy.

Koo was speaking with reporters before attending a hearing at the Legislature.

Asked to comment on how the Ministry of National Defense (MND) intends to prevent military personnel with Chinese nationality potentially engage in acts of treason, Koo said such individuals will undergo evaluation, scrutiny and counseling, and their work will not involve classified information.

"That should effectively prevent any (treasonous) actions" Koo said.

Asked for clarification on Koo's remarks, the MND cited Article 9-1 of the Act Governing Relations Between the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area.

The law stipulates that people whose Republic of China (ROC, Taiwan's official name) nationality and civil rights are revoked as a result of having a Chinese passport or household registration record must still fulfill the obligations and responsibilities of Taiwanese citizens.

The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said in a statement on Monday in response to the issue that the rule was designed to prevent draftees with a Chinese passport or household registration record from exploiting their Chinese identity to evade conscription in Taiwan.

The controversy came after a serviceman in the Navy, surnamed Yang (楊), was recently discovered in a probe by the Investigation Bureau to have held Chinese citizenship for 10 years.

In a statement released on Feb. 10, the Navy said Yang's mother applied for Chinese citizenship on his behalf without his knowledge, and that he only discovered this after he signed up for voluntary military service.

The MND helped Yang file a request with the National Immigration Agency (NIA) that he be allowed to retain his ROC citizenship, and the NIA determined Yang to be a "special case," according to the statement.

The MAC, the top government agency in charge of cross-Taiwan Strait affairs, said on Feb. 13 that Yang was allowed to keep his Taiwanese citizenship after "special consideration."

It should be noted that Taiwan's government does not allow draftees to have their nationality revoked. In Yang's case, he had already finished compulsory military service before signing up for voluntary service.

Since the conclusion of fighting in the Chinese Civil War in 1949, the Republic of China and People's Republic of China governments have both claimed sovereignty over China and each has rejected the other side's claims.

Under Chinese law, Chinese citizens must renounce their citizenship when they become naturalized by another country, but this does not apply to Taiwan.

Similarly, Taiwan's law does not recognize Chinese citizenship, and those found to have a Chinese passport or household registration record can have their ROC citizenship revoked.