Legislature's decision not to kick out TPP lawmaker 'regrettable': MAC

Taipei, March 12 (CNA) Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said Thursday the Legislature's decision not to unseat China-born Taiwan People's Party (TPP) Legislator Li Chen-hsiu (李貞秀) was "regrettable," citing "problems" surrounding her eligibility.

"From the perspective of the executive branch, we very much regret the Legislative Yuan's decision not to revoke Li's lawmaker status," MAC deputy head and spokesperson Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said at a regular news briefing in Taipei.

Liang noted that under Article 20 of the Nationality Act, the power to revoke a lawmaker's status rests with the Legislative Yuan, adding Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) of the main opposition Kuomintang (KMT) "reaffirmed" the decision after interparty negotiations on Wednesday.

After the meeting, attended by lawmakers from the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) as well as the TPP and the KMT, who together hold a majority in the Legislature, Han said that both the facts and legal issues in Li's case still needed to be clarified.

He said that Li's legislative status and powers should be respected until the "relevant facts are established" and a "final judicial ruling is made."

Li is currently not facing legal action for what the government described as illegally sitting in the Legislature and has already taken the oath of office.

'Two problems'

Liang said Li faces two problems, the first being whether she held dual household registration in China and Taiwan when she registered as a candidate.

The issue Liang referred to stems from Article 21 of the Cross-Strait Act, which stipulates that a person who previously held household registration in China must have had Taiwanese household registration for 10 years before being allowed to run for public office.

Article 9-1 of the act also requires such naturalized Taiwanese citizens to submit proof of having given up household registration in China, but that requirement was not strictly enforced until authorities stepped up enforcement in early 2025.

The MAC official said Taiwanese authorities consider a person to have given up their household registration in China only from the date they submit proof of its renunciation to the National Immigration Agency (NIA).

Since Li had not submitted any such proof to the NIA before March 2025, authorities could only begin counting from that date, making her ineligible to run for office before 2035, according to Liang.

The second problem, he said, was whether she had applied to renounce her People's Republic of China (PRC) nationality before taking office -- a requirement Liang linked to the Nationality Act's restrictions on holding public office while retaining the nationality of another country.

"The fact is that, according to the Ministry of the Interior's determination, Li did not apply before taking office to renounce her PRC nationality," Liang said, adding that "both the law and the facts are very clear" in showing that Li is not legally qualified to hold office.