Taiwanese with mainland residence permits may be banned from public office
Fines for those who don’t declare their status also being considered under proposal aimed at discouraging people from living across the strait
Taipei is considering barring Taiwanese with mainland residence permits from running for public office, one of two measures it may take to deter people from going to live across the strait, a senior official said on Wednesday.
But Beijing says the permits were introduced for convenience, and that the proposal would only hurt Taiwanese.
“The government is looking at ways to counter the impact [of Taiwanese obtaining the permits] and removing that civil right is one of the options that is in line with the results of our recent public opinion survey,” said Chiu Chui-cheng, vice-chairman of the Mainland Affairs Council in Taiwan, which handles cross-strait policy.
Beijing sees Taiwan as a part of the mainland that must be reunified, by force if necessary. It has suspended talks with the island since Tsai, of the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party, became president in 2016 and refused to accept the “one China” principle, which Beijing sees as the basis for official exchanges to resume.