Taiwan launches campaign against citizens with Chinese identity cards

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISTANBUL (AA) - Taiwan has launched a campaign against citizens holding Chinese identity cards, with 14 individuals already notified their household registration was set to be revoked, said Interior Minister Liu Shyh-fang.

Liu said any Taiwanese citizen found to “illegally hold Chinese identity documents will have their Taiwanese health insurance, identity cards and passports revoked,” Focus Taiwan reported on Thursday.

At least 40 Taiwanese citizens were under investigation for allegedly holding Chinese identity cards, it added.

“They will not be Taiwanese citizens," the minister stressed.

Taipei’s campaign against those holding Chinese identity documents coms as Taiwanese regional leader William Lai Ching-te has accused Beijing of deepening its "influence campaigns and infiltration" to "absorb" the island that sits across Taiwan Strait, south of mainland China.

“China has undeniably become what our Anti-Infiltration Act defines as a ‘hostile foreign force’,” Lai said.

Beijing claims Taiwan as its "breakaway province," while Taipei has insisted on its independence since 1949.

Taiwan’s Deputy Interior Minister Wu Tang-an clarified it "won't be very easy” for revoked registration affected people to regain household registration in Taiwan in the future.

According to Lai, the regional leader who was elected last year in January, 64 people were charged with Chinese espionage in 2024, three times more than in 2021.

To counter alleged infiltration attempts, Lai laid out a 17-point plan which calls for numerous changes to government approaches and regulations, including restoration of the military court system, and reinstatement of military judges to work with judicial and investigative agencies to handle military personnel involved in crimes such as treason, espionage, and leaking state secrets.