Taiwan revokes household registration of man holding Chinese ID: MAC

Taipei, Sept. 13 (CNA) The household registration and passport of a Taiwanese man living in China and holding a Chinese ID have been revoked, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said Saturday.

In a statement, MAC, which supervises cross-strait exchanges, said the man, Ying Chih-hung (應志宏), recently claimed that he owned a Chinese ID and passport and publicly displayed them during a livestream.

In the same livestream, Ying also cut up and destroyed his Taiwan-issued passport before his audience.

An investigation by Taiwanese authorities found that Ying did hold a Chinese ID and passport, MAC said. Consequently, his household registration and Taiwan-issued passport were later cancelled by Taiwan's government.

According to the Act Governing Relations between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area, the people of Taiwan should not have household registrations in China or hold passports issued by the Chinese government, or they will be deprived of their status as Taiwanese citizens, except as otherwise provided by law.

According to the MAC, Ying, a fraud suspect, fled Taiwan in 2021 and has been placed on a wanted list by the Taitung District Prosecutors Office.

When the Taiwanese citizenship is removed, "the responsibilities and obligations resulting from its status as the people of the Taiwan Area are not excused or exempted," the Act stipulates.

Citing the Act, the MAC said Ying must assume responsibility and obligations in Taiwan despite the cancellation of his household registration and passport, and he will remain on the wanted list with legal enforcement authorities continuing to pursue him.

In his livestream, Ying, who runs a Chinese social media account calling himself a "Taiwanese patriotic youth Ying Chih-hung" and hailing "Long live China," claimed that he loved China and would use his Chinese passport to return to Taiwan.

MAC deputy head and spokesperson Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) in a daily briefing on Thursday disclosed that the government has kicked off a probe into the man.

Liang said Ying was involved in money laundering so he was pursued by law enforcement authorities.

MAC urged people in Taiwan to dismiss anyone like Ying, who fled to China and voiced his love for the "homeland" simply because he was a criminal suspect and wanted to avoid arrest in Taiwan.

Liang said China usually served as a haven for Taiwanese criminals, which is expected to affect ties across the Taiwan Strait.

He called for Chinese authorities to repatriate them to Taiwan to face legal punishment.