Taipei, Feb 28 Taiwan has announced a new regulation under which civil servants in the country would have to pledge not having residency in China besides also not possessing any Chinese ID, including national identification, a residential certificate, or a passport.
According to Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council, military personnel, civil servants, and educators would be dismissed from service if they are found to hold any Chinese government-issued documents, reports Taiwan's leading newspaper Taipei Times.
The decision follows after Taiwan's Ministry of Civil Service last week issued notices to the local governments urging civil servants to sign the pledge of not having any Chinese residency or any other similar Chinese identification.
Earlier, MAC requested ministries and other relevant agencies to launch investigations into whether civil servants, educators, or military personnel held such documents. It said possession of Chinese documents is a threat to the security of Taiwan, and also questions their loyalty towards the nation. If found guilty, such officials would lose their job to serve the government, and their Taiwanese citizenship would be stripped off, the newspaper reported.
Taiwan's Ministry of Defence had issued a similar directive last week. Addressing a press conference in Taipei, top officials of the Ministry of National Defence stated that a document would be issued asking volunteers to pledge before allowing them to join the military that they do not possess citizenship of another nation.
According to local media, a sailor surnamed Yang, who serves in the Taiwanese navy, was found in possession of a Chinese identification card recently.
Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te, during an event in Taipei on Friday, said that China poses a great security threat to Taiwan's sovereignty and democracy, emphasising that China is further wielding its influence to divide Taiwanese society and people with its operatives.
China's aggressive posturing has been a growing concern for Taiwan which alleges that the Chinese Communist Party uses its 'United Front' strategy to gather intelligence and influence public decisions in the country. China considers Taiwan as its inalienable part while Taiwan outrightly rejects such claims.
Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor