China-born U.S. priest obtains Taiwan ID after overcoming red tape

Taipei, Aug. 22 (CNA) A Catholic priest, who was born in China and now a U.S. citizen, has officially become a Taiwanese citizen after overcoming bureaucratic hurdles tied to his birthplace.

Father Xu Jingshan (徐景山), 67, who has been serving in Taiwan for the past 20 years, said to reporters on Friday that he first went to the United States from China 33 years ago and later obtained U.S. citizenship. He wrote off his household registration in China at the time.

He was assigned by the Catholic Church to Taiwan two decades ago.

Xu said that living in Taiwan without a national ID card had long caused practical inconveniences, such as difficulties in applying for a cellphone and obtaining a senior citizen card.

Upon learning about the government's "Mackay Project" last year, he applied to become a naturalized Republic of China (Taiwan) citizen for "making special contributions."

His application was eventually approved by the Ministry of the Interior.

However, because he was born in China, the National Immigration Agency (NIA) required that he provide documentation proving the cancellation of his Chinese household registration.

Xu said he had his relatives in China obtain the required documents from the local police station in his birthplace, but the NIA required the paperwork to be authenticated by Taiwan's Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF).

The SEF, however, only accepts notarized expulsion documents authenticated by Chinese notary offices, not expulsion documents directly issued by local police stations, Xu added.

A suspension in a Chinese notary office's authentication service caused his application to be stalled for a while, said Xu. In July, the office resumed the service, and his Taiwan ID card was ultimately issued.

During the process, he sought assistance from Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Yunlin County Councilor Tsai Yueh-ju (蔡岳儒), who in turn enlisted the help of DPP lawmaker Liu Chien-kuo (劉建國). His case was also submitted to the Executive Yuan and the Presidential Office.

Tsai said Hsu had previously served at churches across Yunlin County, where he devoted himself to grassroots education and helped establish a day care center for seniors at a Catholic church in Lunbei Township.

Xu was transferred to the Church of the Good Shepherd six years ago and has made significant contributions to rural communities and disadvantaged residents, Tsai said.