Deng Wanhua, the former head of Xuetian Village, Fuli Township, Hualien County, was dismissed from office last year for failing to provide supporting evidence for renunciation of Chinese nationality, becoming the first in the country. His son Lai Wenyou took over and ran for the election, but also lost his mainland Chinese household registration certificate because he failed to submit the certificate. On the 16th of this month, the National Election Committee revoked his candidacy. Lai Nan was dissatisfied and applied to the Taipei High Administrative Court to suspend the execution of the original punishment. After hearing the case, the High Administrative Litigation Tribunal found that Lai Nan’s petition was unfounded and ruled today (25th) to reject it.
The collegial bench of the Taipei High Administrative Court held that the Cross-Strait Regulations are based on the pre-reunification of the country and regulate the exchanges between people on both sides of the Strait based on household registration. The Mainland Affairs Council's letter explains that people from the mainland who enter Taiwan with permission must have a household registration in Taiwan for 10 years before they can register as candidates for public office. This is based on administrative professional considerations, complies with the intention of the law and does not violate the principle of legal reservation. Lai Wenyou has not provided relevant proof, so it is difficult to recognize the proof that meets the negative requirements.
As for the Hualien County Election Committee’s subsequent activities such as lottery drawing and roster compilation, it is no longer a personal matter for Lai Wenyou, who has lost his candidacy. There is no urgency and no need to explore the principle of trust protection. Therefore, the ruling was made to reject Lai Wenyou’s claim.
Deng Wanhua, the former head of Xuetian Village in Fuli Township, Hualien, was dismissed in August last year because he was a citizen of the People's Republic of China. His son Lai Wenyou also registered to run for Xuetian Village Chief this year. However, the Central Election Commission announced on the 16th of this month that Lai Wenyou's candidacy was revoked because he did not provide proof of loss of Chinese household registration.
The Nationality Law expressly stipulates that elected public officials must renounce nationality other than the Republic of China before taking office, and must complete the renunciation and provide supporting documents within one year of taking office. Deng Wanhua, the former head of Xuedian Village, was dismissed from the Fuli Township Office on August 1 last year because she was unable to provide supporting documents for renunciation of Chinese nationality. She was the first public official in the country to be dismissed because of her Chinese household registration. Deng Wanhua also appealed to the county government. Although the county government revoked the dismissal from the township office, the Ministry of Interior believed that the dismissal was well-founded in law and the county government had no room for its own interpretation, so the dismissal was still upheld.
A total of 2 people in Xuetian Village, Fuli Township, have registered as village chief candidates. Among them, Lai Wenyou served as the deputy director of the Hualien County Government Southern District Service Center before registration, and represented Hualien County Government on weddings, funerals and other service trips. He resigned as deputy director before registration in September.
