According to the United Daily News and the Liberty Times, the Central Election Commission decided not to approve the registration of Lai Wen-yu, 26, as a candidate for village chief of Xuetian Village in Fuli Township, Hualien. Lai is the son of Deng Wan-hua, the mainland-born village chief who was dismissed. On Oct. 21 the Hualien County Election Commission told the township office to revoke its earlier approval.

The commission said Lai had not submitted proof that he had given up Chinese household registration. Under Article 21, Paragraph 1 of the Cross-Strait Act, mainland-born people must hold Taiwan household registration for ten years to hold public office, and under the Mainland Affairs Council's interpretation that period runs from the date proof is submitted. The National Immigration Agency reportedly replied on Sept. 23 that it had no record of a submission.

How the County Decision Was Reversed

Reports said the Hualien County commission published its eligibility review on Oct. 16 and Lai was not on the list of 12 ineligible candidates, and on Oct. 17 the township office told him a ballot-number draw would take place on Oct. 23. The Central commission, however, overturned the county resolution at its 628th meeting, sent notice on Oct. 20, and Lai received the decision on Oct. 21.

The Central commission said local commissions are under its supervision under the election law and that the county commission's 445th-meeting resolution conflicted with the rules. The county commission said it acted under the law and the competent authority's interpretation after the reversal. The cited basis included a Mainland Affairs Council interpretation of April 16 and a Central commission letter of Aug. 12.

The Candidate's Objection and Open Questions

Lai said he was registered in Taiwan at six months old and never held Chinese registration, so there was ‘nothing to give up.’ He called the ruling the first of its kind nationwide and said it ‘roughly deprived’ him of the right to run. The Liberty Times and others noted that he was running in place of his mother.

The case looks like one of the first applications of the approach the commission's chair described in July, under which proof of loss is checked at registration and the ten-year period runs from submission. With the Nov. 28 local elections close, a legal challenge is possible, but it could not be confirmed whether Lai has sought a remedy. Debate is likely to continue over whether the same requirement should apply to someone registered in Taiwan since infancy. Officials say they are enforcing a ‘single allegiance’ principle, while critics call the interpretation excessive.