《TAIPEI TIMES》 China residency scheme puts citizenship at risk

TROUBLED PLAN: Given China’s struggling economy and strict security laws, ‘why would the average Taiwanese want to settle there?’ an official asked

By Chen Yu-fu and Kayleigh Madjar / Staff reporter, with staff writer

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Taiwanese who obtain Chinese household residency would have their Republic of China citizenship revoked in accordance with Taiwanese law, an official with knowledge of cross-strait affairs said on Sunday.

Beijing in the past few years has been promoting permanent residency for Taiwanese living in China. To obtain it, an applicant must forfeit their Taiwan compatriot card and Taiwanese identification card, and after a period of time, they can apply for People’s Republic of China （PRC） household residency.

Chinese state media have been promoting the story of Chang Li-chi （張立齊）, a professor at Huaqiao University in China’s Fujian Province who was the first to settle in the province under the scheme.

Chang is a vocal supporter of unification and has traveled often between Taiwan and China, where he earned his doctorate at Beijing University, the Taiwanese official said on condition of anonymity.

In the same vein as Justin Lin （林毅夫）, who defected to China in 1979 and later became a vice president at the World Bank, Chang has let himself become a model for Chinese “united front” work, the official said.

However, the permanent residence tactic is unlikely to be effective due to China’s struggling economy and tightening control over national security, they said.

“Foreigners and Chinese alike are fleeing,” they said. “Why would the average Taiwanese want to settle there now?”

According to the guidelines posted by China’s National Immigration Administration, Taiwanese granted permanent residency must forfeit their compatriot card, Taiwanese ID and entry-exit permit to their local public security bureau within six months, the official said.

Then within the period of validity, the resident must apply for household residence and obtain a “residency card,” which is equivalent to naturalization, they said.

Doing so contravenes the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area （臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例）, they added.

Article 9-1 of the act states that Taiwanese cannot hold household registration or a passport issued by the PRC.

Those in contravention “shall be deprived” of their citizenship and the rights therein, as well as household registration in Taiwan.

Those who obtain permanent residency, but do not apply for household registration in China before the deadline are viewed as abandoning the process and would not be in contravention of the act, the official said.

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES