ANKARA

Taiwan has barred 62 active military personnel who currently hold a residence permit issued by the Chinese government from doing jobs related to collecting intelligence and confidential data, Defense Minister Wellington Koo said on Wednesday.

Responding to a question at a legislative hearing, Koo said 62 service members have a Chinese government-issued "Residence Permit for Taiwan Residents," and two of them are in the voluntary service, Taipei-based Central News Agency reported.

There is nothing disqualifying or illegal about holding the residence permit, but they shall not, in principle, be assigned work involving operating newly acquired advanced weapons, accompanying high-ranking military officers, accessing operations and intelligence centers, or serving as chiefs of staff.

Koo indicated that the Defense Ministry will recruit more people in light of several recent cases of former or active-duty service members indicted on charges of spying for China.

The issue came into the spotlight after a recent incident involving a member of the Navy, surnamed Yang, who was found to have held Chinese citizenship for 10 years.

Under Chinese law, Chinese citizens must renounce their citizenship when they become naturalized by another country, but this does not apply to Taiwan.

Similarly, Taiwan's law does not recognize Chinese citizenship, and those found to have a Chinese passport or household registration record can have their Taiwanese citizenship revoked.

Taiwan is also scanning social media comments by Chinese citizens as part of its entry approval process in a bid to counter what it sees as growing influence efforts by Beijing.

Beijing, in turn, launched an online portal to monitor “Taiwan independence” activities.

China views Taiwan as a "breakaway" province, while Taipei has asserted its independence since 1949.​​​​​​​

*Writing by Aamir Latif