Citizenship row embroils KMT’s Lee

But Kuomintang Legislator Diane Lee, who has repeatedly claimed that she has already renounced her U.S. citizenship, argued that the letter is not the State Department’s final word regarding its investigation into her her nationality status.

The letter was a reply from the State Department to a request by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which asked the State Department to investigate whether any of Taiwan’s legislators possessed U.S. citizenship.

The letter came through the American Institute in Taiwan earlier this month, but the MOFA refused to forward it to the Legislature immediately despite demands by main opposition Democratic Progressive Party lawmakers that it do so.

Having received the letter from the MOFA, the legislative rules committee Tuesday sent each lawmaker a copy on a confidential basis.

But DPP lawmakers yesterday made public the letter, in which it is confirmed Lee has obtained a U.S. passport which is still valid.

DPP Legislator Trong Chai said that the letter indicates that Lee has never lost her U.S. citizenship.

The DPP lawmakers demanded Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng immediately relieve Lee from her office. Lee must return all the salaries and subsidies she has received since first becoming an elected official in 1994 as a member of the Taipei City Council, the opposition deputies said.

They also demanded a probe into any potential criminal liability in her case. DPP whip Legislator William Lai said the nationality law forbids any elected officials and government administrators from having dual citizenship.

But Lee, who already held a press conference ahead of the DPP colleagues’ revelation, cited the letter as saying the outcome of the investigation “does not represent a final decision” on her nationality status.

She has argued that her being sworn in as an elected official automatically invalidated her U.S. citizenship.

The Central Election Commission (CEC) said any election candidate must renounce his or her foreign citizenship before taking office.

The CEC said the Legislature will have to determine whether Lee’s present legislative term is still valid.

CEC Secretary General Teng Tien-you said the election body will investigate whether her previous terms at the Legislature and the Taipei City Council were valid.

If she is found to have dual citizenship, the CEC will invalidate her previous terms accordingly, Teng said. The CEC has also asked Lee to provide relevant information to facilitate its probe, the secretary general added.

The Taipei District Prosecutors Office has also asked MOFA to send it a copy of the U.S. State Department letter to see whether the KMT legislator has violated any laws, the Central News Agency reported.

Three DPP lawmakers in March this year filed a complaint with the prosecutors office, alleging that Lee had forged documents and committed frauds in connection with her dual nationality.

Lee, 49, was a news anchor of the Chinese Television System before she was elected to the Taipei City Council in 1994. She became a member of the national Legislature in 1999, and is now serving out her fourth consecutive term.

Some observers said if she had to return all the income and allowances she received for her elected tenures, the sum might amount to almost NT$100 million.

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