Taipei, Nov. 17 (CNA) The Nationality Act does not deny newly naturalized citizens the right to vote for 10 years as reported in a newspaper story, the Ministry of the Interior (MOI) said Saturday.
According to a China Times' article published Saturday, Taiwan International Family Association (TIFA) proposed that the government should abolish Article 10 of the Nationality Act, which stipulates that naturalized citizens can only vote 10 years after becoming ROC citizens.
However, MOI noted that the story was inaccurate because all ROC citizens aged 20 years and above are eligible to vote if they have lived in an electoral district for four consecutive months, according to the Civil Servants Election and Recall Act.
In addition, all ROC citizens over 18 years old also have the right to vote in a referendum if they have lived in the country for six months as stipulated in the Referendum Act, the MOI added.
The ministry pointed out that the Nationality Act only restricts the right of new citizens to hold important government offices, such as president, vice president, legislator, and premier, for the first 10 years after naturalization.
TIFA later clarified that it actually called on the government to grant new citizens full suffrage rights once they receive citizenship, adding that a 10-year restriction on standing for elections is too long and people should be integrated into Taiwan's society if they become citizens.
