Recently, two Taipei City government officials who had been in office less than 100 days--Bureau of Transportation director David Poo and Bureau of Finance chief David Hung--were forced to step down after Taipei City councilors discovered that both of them have dual nationality. On the day he left office, David Poo, accompanied by his wife, strolled home with a heavy heart. His wife asked him what he was thinking, and he unexpectedly replied, "I'm thinking about how to improve Taipei's traffic situation."

While many were bemoaning the loss of talented people from the Taipei City government, this "settling of accounts" spread to the Taiwan Provincial Government. Five provincial commissioners voluntarily resigned. One of them was Casper Shih, head of the China Productivity Center. Governor James Soong had worked especially hard to recruit Shih, who had always been open about his dual nationality, to oversee the overhauling of province-run enterprises.

From the political world, the wave of criticism of dual nationals then spread to campuses. At normally quiet National Cheng Kung University in Tainan, the faculty association demanded that school chancellor Wu Ching investigate how many of those in administrative roles (such as heads of departments, graduate programs, and institutes), had dual nationality. The faculty demanded that the school "deal with these cases according to regulations." This created tremendous difficulties for Wu, who is trying to recruit new talent to raise the level of scholarship at the university. (Wu, also a member of the Academia Sinica, had given up his US citizenship after being especially recruited to come back to work in Taiwan by Academia Sinica President Lee Yuan-tseh.)

Not surprisingly, the National Space Program Office (NSPO) of the National Science Council, which has the highest proportion of dual nationals of any government agency, became a target of criticism. Of the more than 140 staff persons in the NSPO, nearly 30 (over 20%) have dual nationality. For this reason, in a fit of pique the Legislative Yuan cut more than NT$110 million from their budget for next year.

On top of all this, legislator Chou Po-lun requested that Premier Lien Chan make a "complete investigation of the nationality status of civil servants" in order to prevent what Chou called "defilement of the nation." He asked that all government officials with dual nationality be fired, to make the point that civil servants should not have any mixed loyalties.

Responding to demands by elected officials, the NSPO eliminated administrative responsibilities for some officials at the level of office director, and made these officials into "plan coordinators." As a result, the dual nationals affected are left with only technical, not policy or administrative, responsibilities.

"Aerospace planning involves national secrets. We don't want to expose ourselves to challenges to our loyalty," says NSPO director Shyu Jia-ming.

The debate over dual nationality is growing more heated, and news of it has spread overseas.

Casper Shih originally didn't want his wife in Canada to know about his resignation, but it was reported in World Journal. "It couldn't be helped. Communications are too advanced," he sighs. When Shih called home, Mrs. Shih couldn't keep from complaining about how unfair it all seemed:"You gave up your children and left me here to take care of them so you could return to Taiwan, which is a sacrifice for both of us. Yet still people doubt your commitment. It's really ridiculous." She was so angry that she said she wanted to write a letter to the newspapers in Taiwan to protest. To defuse things Shih hurried to say, "OK, OK, I'll write a letter myself. I'll say what needs to be said."

Although this problem has no direct impact on their lives, many Chinese people cannot but feel emotional over the issue. In a letter sent back to Taiwan, Anna Chennault wrote, "Lately there has been a ruckus in Taiwan over dual nationality. Is there really no place a Chinese can call home?"

When you get right down to it, isn't it true that most of these people were specially recruited to come back to Taiwan? Since our country recognizes dual nationality, why are these dual nationals being criticized and doubted? Why aren't they being judged according to their actual performance, rather than what they are seen to symbolize politically?

"If we relied solely on persons only holding ROC nationality, the NSPO would never get off the ground," admits Shyu Jia-ming. He notes Taiwan has no real foundation in aerospace technology, so that it could save a lot of time and effort by drawing on those who have already been trained in the US. Otherwise it would be necessary to hire "foreign consultants," which would cost a lot more money and be a lot less effective.

"In the US, to enter the aerospace industry, you have to agree to become a US citizen. There is no choice in the matter," says David F. Chu, program manager for Spacecraft Development at the NSPO.

Faced with demands that no high-ranking officials have dual nationality, Chu agrees that this is probably sensible from the point of view of ensuring that civil servants are properly focused on their jobs. But he personally would never give up his US citizenship just for a management position. "I came back to Taiwan to put a satellite up in space, and I'll take any position to do so. What I will not do is listen to people say that I am disloyal."

Casper Shih makes a similar point about so-called "disloyalty." If Taiwan were under a single-nationality policy, he says, then he would deserve whatever criticism he is getting. But today Taiwan recognizes dual nationality, and it is completely legal to have a second nationality. As for preventing dual nationals from holding government positions, he says, "If  this is banned by law, then there's nothing more to be said. But you can't just equate dual nationality with 'disloyalty.' This is doing me an injustice, and in fact does many people an injustice."

In fact, though the current ROC Nationality Act permits dual nationality, Article 10 of the bylaws stipulates:"For those still holding ROC government positions who acquired foreign nationality either before or  after the promulgation of the Nationality Act, their superiors should investigate their cases and terminate their official responsibilities."

Yet according to the Constitution, "The people have the right to sit for official examinations and serve as civil servants." Since dual nationals are also citizens of  the ROC, why does the Nationality Act exclude them from becoming public officials?

The Nationality Act has been in effect for more than 60 years since its promulgation in 1929. It is impossible now to discern the spirit underlying these stipulations. But, according to John Kuan, Minister of Personnel in the Examination Yuan, there are several possible reasons why the law was written to exclude dual nationals from public office:

First is the question of the loyalty of civil servants to the nation. For ordinary citizens, it is enough that they simply obey the law. But civil servants are the instruments of national policy; they interpret and implement the laws using public authority. Since they have these powers, civil servants also have the duty to meet higher standards of loyalty.

Second, single nationality was then the global norm. In 1896 an international congress of legal scholars laid down three principles: An individual may freely choose his or her nationality; a person cannot be without a nationality; and an individual may not have multiple nationality. Thus the majority of countries in the world recognized only single nationality. (These principles have also been incorporated into UN conventions on the issue.)

Third, "and this is only my own surmise," says John Kuan, you have to remember that in 1929 the ROC was still in the Tutelary (pre-democratic) period. The Northern Expedition to unify the nation had just been completed and the unequal treaties (which were forced on China by the foreign powers and gave foreigners special privileges within China) still weighed heavily on the nation. "They had long suffered mistreatment at the hands of foreigners, and they probably didn't care much for the idea of  'foreign devils' coming back to serve in the government."

But is dual nationality really grounds for suspecting disloyalty to the nation?

When you look carefully, it turns out that there are many different situations in which individuals choose dual nationality, so that dual nationals cannot all be lumped together.

Some people are literally born into dual nationality. This may happen for a combination of reasons. On the one hand, the ROC Nationality Act is based on the principle of paternal ancestry. If you are the son or daughter of a Chinese father, you can have ROC nationality from birth. On the other hand, many countries use the principle of territoriality. A person automatically has citizenship in a given nation just by being born there. As a result, Chinese born in, say, the US thus have dual nationality.

Besides people such as these, other people have dual nationality because they have been adopted overseas, married a foreigner, or emigrated. Given that our country does not compel people to choose a single nationality, these people quite naturally become dual nationals.

Yet, however "natural" the reason for dual nationality, Chen Kang-chin, director-general of the Central Personnel Administration, points to a reason why such dual nationals might not be trusted to be government officials. Most people in Taiwan think that if people overseas keep dual nationality, it shows they have confidence in the nation. But exactly the opposite assumption is made in Taiwan, where dual nationality is seen as an expression of a lack of confidence in the future. "Of course this is no problem for ordinary private sector jobs. But public officials are arms of the state, so foreigners or dual nationals should not be allowed to take these posts."

John Kuan says that asking people to give up their dual nationality in order to serve in the government is the minimum the government should demand. "If you have dual nationality, then which country do you belong to in the end? What will the ordinary citizens think? Would you tolerate having a foreigner deciding your rights and duties? When citizens raise doubts like these, how can the government handle the problem?"

Kuan emphasizes that he does not doubt the commitment or idealism of dual nationals to their work. But modern societies require people to respect the law, and the obligation of civil servants to do so is even stronger.

One problem with a purely legal argument is that there is no stipulation banning dual nationality in the current civil service regulations. Only the Nationality Act makes such employment inappropriate. Yet, complains Casper Shih, "nobody thinks about checking out the Nationality Act when they become civil servants. There is no reason why those who have been forced out of their posts for having dual nationality should be blamed."

Furthermore, the scope of the term "civil service" is rather vague, and has been the subject of much controversy.

In 1963, the Supreme Court declared in Interpretation 42 that government servants included elected officials, central and local civil servants, and persons doing government work under the law. This is the "strict" interpretation because, since dual nationals should not be hired as civil servants, the broader the definition of "civil service," the more limitations there are on hiring foreign nationals.

But this strict interpretation cannot always meet practical needs when it comes to hiring. Thus, in order to stem the "brain drain" and attract overseas students back to Taiwan, both the Ministry of Education (which sets rules for faculty hiring) and the Ministry of Personnel (which is in charge of requirements for employing civil servants) have adopted much looser interpretations of the law, so that it would be easier to hire dual nationals.

For example, in 1964 the MOP stated that in order to develop science and technology, if it proved impossible to find qualified persons at home, foreign nationals could be hired on a contract basis for scientific or technical posts which did not involve national secrets. In 1984 the MOE declared that secondary and tertiary institutions could employ foreign nationals. In addition, according to Supreme Court Interpretation 38, the civil service law is only applicable to university professors for those parts of their jobs involving administration or policy (such as heading up a department, graduate school, or institute).

Although there have long been rules against hiring foreign nationals, enforcement has been lax. Civil servants have never been asked to declare their nationality upon being hired. The government long downplayed the problem. Thus it was only in 1987 that the media was permitted to make a big deal over the fact that many parliamentarians had dual nationality.

Yang Chung-sen is a legal expert who advocates relaxing restrictions on dual nationals becoming civil servants. He argues that as far back as the Warring States Period, leaders of one state employed talented people from other states. Moreover, all of the dynasties at their peak of power employed foreigners in important positions. For example, in the Tang dynasty Uigurs were employed at court. In the Yuan dynasty, Marco Polo served as an official. And in the Ching dynasty, Matteo Ricci served as the official in charge of astronomy and astrology. At the end of the Ching dynasty, the Englishman Robert Hart founded the Chinese customs service, and he remained in charge of customs affairs for decades. Also, for diplomatic purposes, owing to a shortage of experts on foreign affairs, many retired foreign ambassadors were employed in important positions.

"In ancient times, when people were much less cosmopolitan and clear distinctions were made between the Chinese and the so-called barbarians, foreigners were treated with tolerance and an open mind. How much more logical it is that today, as the world shares more and more in common, dual nationals--who are, after all, also descendants of Chinese--should not be rigorously excluded," Yang wrote in a newspaper article eight years ago.

But more of the vocal public identified with a different school of thought. Discussing the problem of dual nationals in the parliament, the famous attorney C.V. Chen pointed out that members of parliament control the power of the state, participate in the establishment of the nation's laws and policies, and have many opportunities to come in contact with national secrets. Since, Chen argued, it is impossible to be completely loyal to two separate entities at the same time, it is only proper that parliamentarians should give up dual nationality.

Following this logic, the government stipulated in the 1991 amendments to the Election and Recall Law that those elected as representatives must give up foreign citizenship before they are sworn into office. Since then elected officials and executive branch civil servants alike have found themselves under closer scrutiny over the nationality question.

In those days when people were first criticizing politicians for dual nationality, academic institutions and state-run corporations still got little attention. Take for example the Academia Sinica. When a few years ago several foreign nationals were invited by then-Academia Sinica president Wu Ta-you to serve as heads of institutes, Wu asked the government whether dual nationality would be a problem, and the answer he got was: They can take the posts if they have their ROC citizenship.

But, unexpectedly, the domestic environment has changed very quickly. What was acceptable in the past is today criticized. Lee Yuan-tseh, the current head of the Academia Sinica, says with frustration that five heads of institutes there have dual nationality; if they are forced to make an immediate choice, many would leave.

But why don't they just give up their foreign citizenship? As an Independence Morning Post editorial contended, "Taiwan taxpayers have a perfect right to exclude those who do not declare a single loyalty from becoming public officials. Shouldn't those who have the determination to make a contribution to Taiwan and who wish to serve in important public positions have the duty to put Taiwan citizens' minds at ease about letting them take these positions?"

But different people have different considerations. Lee Yuan-tseh says that two institute directors at the Academia Sinica have indicated they are willing to give up dual nationality, but that they must have some time. This is because they have research projects still underway overseas, and they are responsible for the jobs of many researchers, so they cannot just cut off ties all at once.

Lin Ruey-shiung of the College of Public Health at National Taiwan University says that he is perfectly willing to give up his US citizenship, but if he does so it is the national interest that will suffer most. It is only because he holds a US passport that over these past nine years he has been able to travel abroad freely and take part in international exchanges on public health.

Casper Shih doesn't even see what the problem with dual nationality is in the first place. "Unless one day I am really very dissatisfied with politics in Taiwan, so that I run for office myself, there is no need to give up dual nationality."

Then there are many individuals with dual nationality who have come back to Taiwan to work but will retire before long. To ask them to give up their dual nationality could create real problems for them.

NSPO engineer Kang Che-shing says that he took early retirement in the US when he was 55. He planned to come back to Taiwan to work for ten years to pass along his experience to the younger generation here. He has neither house nor pension in Taiwan. If he gives up his US citizenship, he will have a very hard time in his old age. "To come back to guide younger people is already a big contribution. Why should I have to give up my US citizenship? We are first generation emigrants, and we still identify with Taiwan." The white-haired Kang speaks with obvious emotion; he seems to be deeply aggrieved about the doubts others have expressed about those who share his situation.

Chien Tai-lang, the head of the Population Administration of the Ministry of  the Interior, which is the governing agency for the Nationality Act, says that the current trend is away from excluding dual nationals. "I have discovered in the past few years that many countries that advocate single nationality are not in fact very strict about it." According to his assessment, nationalist emotions were running high in the 18th and 19th centuries, so people were inclined to oppose anyone having divided loyalties.

But in the past few decades, with the development of  the global economy, contacts between nations have multiplied, and many people have a real need to travel frequently between countries for economic or cultural reasons not necessarily related to politics. Thus the number of people with dual nationality has been increasing, and "many single-nationality countries have gradually given tacit acceptance to dual nationality." He says that this phenomenon exists in the United States, Japan, and mainland China.

Therefore, in amending the Nationality Act, the Ministry of the Interior is inclined to exempt from the law some persons for whom nationality need not be a problem. Such people include, for example, non-managerial level contract workers with unusual technical skills hired by state-run enterprises. The draft of the amended law has already been sent to the Cabinet for approval; it will then be sent to the Legislative Yuan.

"Do we want to be global citizens? Or citizens of a tiny island? Do we want to set limits? Or do we want to be open? This is a problem of how people think," says Casper Shih. As for amending the law, he just hopes that things don't  move backwards.

When people are employed by the nation, the point is to maximize what can be gained from them while preventing misuse of their positions. Compared to the Spring and Autumn Period or the Tang dynasty, will moderns prove more open, or more cautious? We don't know. But one thing we can be sure of is that the world is by no means a single community just yet.

[Picture Caption]

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Loyalty to the nation is the minimum requirement for a government official. Today dual nationals are being doubted on this point. (photo by Fu Ting-wei)

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The Constitution says all citizens have the right to sit for civil service exams and become government employees. But the Nationality Act says that anyone also holding citizenship of another country cannot hold a government post.

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There are many Chinese living overseas. There was great controversy because many overseas Chinese representatives in the parliament held dual nationality.

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In the past countless students from Taiwan left to study abroad, creating a brain drain. But now these highly accomplished people are prime targets for recruitment to come back to Taiwan to work. (photo by Huang Li-li)

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The controversy over dual nationals has spread to campuses. Some have al ready said they will give up their positions in Taiwan and go back home to the States. (Sinorama file photo)

Loyalty to the nation is the minimum requirement for a government official. Today dual nationals are being doubted on this point. （photo by Fu T ing-wei）

The Constitution says all citizens have the right to sit for civil service exams and become government employees. But the Nationality Act says that anyone also holding citizenship of another country cannot hold a government post.

There are many Chinese living overseas. There was great controversy because many overseas Chinese representatives in the parliament held dual nationality.

In the past countless students from Taiwan left to study abroad, creating a brain drain. But now these highly accomplished people are prime targets for recruitment to come back to Taiwan to work. （photo by Huang Li-li）

The controversy over dual nationals has spread to campuses. Some have al ready said they will give up their positions in Taiwan and go back home to the States. （Sinorama file photo）