Taipei [Taiwan] January 24 : Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said on Thursday that three people, including taekwondo athlete Lee Tung-hsien, had their citizenship in Taiwan removed because they had Chinese identification, Central News Agency (CNA) reported.
According to MAC deputy head and spokesperson Liang Wen-chieh, the MAC has received "information on around a dozen specific cases" involving Taiwanese residents using Chinese identification after a film depicting China's unified front activities targeting Taiwan was made public, CNA reported.
"After verification fby the relevant authorities, the Taiwanese citizenship of three individuals, including Lee Tung-hsien and Su Shih-en, has been revoked," CNA quoted Liang as saying.
He pointed out that the reason for the revocation was that they had Chinese identification, which is against the Cross-Strait Act, which governs relations between the people of the Taiwan area and the mainland area.
The act forbids Taiwanese nationals from holding a Chinese passport or registering as a Chinese household. Anyone who violates the rule faces the possibility of losing their citizenship, having their Republic of China household registration revoked, and losing associated rights including the ability to run for office or vote.
Since the applicant must show a Chinese household registration book to the authorities throughout the application procedure, Chinese legislation stipulates that a Chinese household registration is necessary to apply for a Chinese ID.
Additionally, he stated that a Taiwanese person whose Taiwanese citizenship has been revoked must request admission into Taiwan using the appropriate documents supplied by the mainland authorities if they wish to visit or return to Taiwan, according to CNA report.
"Of course, you will no longer have access to National Health Insurance -- you will be regarded as a mainland Chinese," he added.
Following assertions made by Taiwanese YouTubers Pa Chiung and Chen Po-yuan in a two-part video broadcast in December last year about China's unified front activities attacking Taiwan, the MAC in recent months has been looking into reports of Taiwanese residents possessing Chinese ID cards, according to a report by CNA.
Lee and Su disclosed that they possess a Chinese ID in the two films, which as of Thursday had received a total of 5 million views. An unidentified middleman in the video also asserted that over 100,000 Taiwanese nationals currently possess a Chinese ID.
As per the CNA report, after competing in taekwondo at the 2023 Asia Pacific Masters Games in South Korea, where he took home a bronze medal and raised the Chinese national flag at the award ceremony, Lee has long been seen as a pro-China person.