TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A naturalized Taiwanese woman is facing up to NT$500,000 (US$16,200) in fines for accepting an official position with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
Lu Yuexiang (盧月香) was born in China but moved to Taiwan in 1992 when she married a Taiwanese man and obtained Taiwanese citizenship in 2001. While in Taiwan, she became affiliated with a pro-CCP political party before returning to China.
In 2010, she founded the Chinese Production Party in Taiwan and in 2013 told China's Southern Weekly that her goal is to "make Taiwanese legislators and generals kneel to Chairman Mao at the Mao Zedong Memorial Hall in Beijing." The party was disbanded because she had held household registration in Taiwan for less than 10 years, but in 2014 it was re-established by her husband, who named her as honorary chair.
Recently, Lu announced plans to hold a women's forum in Hong Kong, and her status as a member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) of Fujian Province was revealed, reported Liberty Times. In an interview with the newspaper, Lu said that she has served as a political commissar for two years, has focused on doing business in China in recent years, and has no plans to return to Taiwan in the short term.
In response to the report, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said that Taiwanese citizens are not allowed to hold positions in or be members of China's political parties, military, administration, or political organs. To do so would represent a violation of Article 33 of the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), which would incur fines between NT$100,000 and NT$500,000.
The MAC said relevant authorities have been asked to investigate Lu's alleged membership in the CPPCC. The Ministry of Interior (MOI) said it is in the process of investigating the allegations and will impose punishments in accordance with the law.
In 2019, Taiwanese citizen Ling Yu-shih (凌友詩) was fined NT$500,000 by the MOI for taking part in the CPPCC in 2019, during which she reportedly described herself as a "Taiwanese girl." This year, she was again fined NT$500,000 by the MOI for attending China’s National People’s Congress (NPC).
