2025 Statelessness & Citizenship Review 7(2) strips Taiwanese people of their citizenship and exposes them to new risks associated with Chinese citizenship. As mentioned at the beginning of this article, while the conferral or withdrawal of nationality falls within the sovereign domain of the state, citizenship also carries an international dimension — particularly in ensuring compliance with international obligations such as those set out in various international law instruments. In addition, the issue of nationality recognition involves the international law as discussed earlier. The recognition of nationality by other states, which affects the practice of citizenship in foreign states, should also be consistent with the principles of international law values: examining genuine links between individuals and the conferring states, and avoiding the involuntary naturalisation. Nevertheless, in the case of Taiwanese people’s citizenship, this is highly disregarded in the recognition of their nationality when foreign authorities mis-recognise citizenship of Taiwanese people as Chinese. Therefore, while the dispute over citizenship may not always render Taiwanese citizenship ineffective, it does have the potential to lead to other human rights violations due to the misinterpretation of Taiwanese citizenship. The contested citizenship has another consequence when it is in an international domain; that is, the contestation of sovereignty and citizenship has its spillover effects. The spillover effect of the Taiwanese citizenship can be seen in Liu v Poland in that the principal issue of the legal dispute is the possible human rights abuse regarding the extradition, 127 but the sovereignty of Taiwan and the diplomatic difficulties due to the contestation of Taiwan’s statehood deeply influenced the rights of the Taiwanese person who was arrested. Indeed, with the case of Liu and Others v Norway, the issue may be more relevant to the vulnerability of the contested citizenship.128 Whereas the case of Liu v Poland reflects that the vulnerability can be part of the issue hidden under the main legal discourse.129 Citizenship is a right leading to other rights, as it serves as a person’s fundamental legal status; therefore, one’s citizenship status is an essential basis of a person when there is a legal dispute, whether it concerns the personal status or not. When the citizenship does not have a completely solid status, like the Taiwanese nationality, the contestation of the citizenship can extend its influence onto international legal disputes concerning human rights. V CONCLUSION In examining the complexities surrounding Taiwanese citizenship within the international legal landscape, this article delves into the contested nature of Taiwanese citizenship through the lens of two ECtHR cases. Central to this discussion is the notion of atypical citizenship deprivation and the spillover effects stemming from the contentious status of Taiwanese sovereignty. The case of Liu and Others v Norway underscores the struggles of Taiwanese individuals residing in European countries, emphasising their right to choose their national identity and challenging the imposition of Chinese nationality on their residence permits. This case has brought attention to the importance of safeguarding personal identity and addressing challenges related to nationality recognition through privacy rights on a broader scale. However, the case also 127 Liu v Poland (n 9) [1]. 128 Annex to Liu and Others v Norway (n 84) 1–20. 129 Liu v Poland (n 9) [1]. 124

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