TAIPEI (Reuters) – Taiwanese officials in Hong Kong have been told that their visas will not be renewed unless they sign a document supporting Beijing’s claim to Taiwan under its “one China” policy, a person with Reuters told Reuters. direct knowledge of the matter.
FILE PHOTO: Supporters of the Hong Kong anti-government movement gather in Liberty Square to mark the first anniversary of the start of the Hong Kong protests in Taipei, Taiwan on June 13, 2020. REUTERS / Ann Wang
The move comes after Taipei criticized a new security law imposed on Hong Kong by Beijing, and opened an office in Taipei this month to help people who want to leave the Asian financial center.
The city government asked several Taiwanese officials at its de facto Hong Kong consulate to renew their visas to sign the document, a senior Taiwan official with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.
The official said the move was unprecedented and presented an “unnecessary political obstacle” to ties between Taipei and Hong Kong.
“They will not issue the visa if we do not sign the document,” said the official, who declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter. “It is completely a problem created by them.”
“We will do everything possible to defend our position. Our representatives in Hong Kong will hold firm to their position. ”
The Hong Kong Immigration Department said it would not comment on individual cases, but added that it acts in accordance with relevant laws and policies in handling each application.
The Chinese Mainland Affairs Council for Taiwan Policy Development urged Hong Kong to return to the “existing consensus” to maintain normal exchanges between Taiwan and Hong Kong.
“Hong Kong must follow mutual agreements to ensure that the office is free from political interference, and must not establish unnecessary obstacles beyond those agreements,” it said in a statement to Reuters.
Taiwan has 15 Taiwanese employees at its de facto consulate in the city, another person with knowledge of the matter said.
China views Taiwan as part of “one China” and has never renounced the use of force to bring the island under its control.
China has proposed that Taiwan be brought under Chinese rule under a similar “one country two systems” agreement that it offered to Hong Kong. Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen rejects the proposal, which she calls a “failure”.
The source declined to say exactly how many Taiwan officials were asked to sign the document, but said that their acting chief, Kao Ming-tsun, had returned to the island on Thursday night after he refused to sign the document after renewal of your visa.
Reuters was unable to immediately contact Kao for comment.
Kao’s return to Taiwan due to the political dispute was first reported by the Taiwan Up Media online publication.
Taiwan announced this week that it would improve scrutiny of Hong Kong’s investment to avoid illicit money from mainland China, days after Reuters reported the move.
Hong Kong has long served as a major channel of trade and investment between Taiwan and China, which have no diplomatic relations.
Hong Kong’s new security law punishes what China broadly defines as subversion, secession, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces with up to life in prison.
Critics of the law fear it will crush the extensive freedoms promised to the former British colony when it returned to Chinese rule in 1997, while supporters say it will bring stability to the city after a year of sometimes violent anti-government protests.
Yimou Lee’s reports; additional reports from Clare Jim in Hong Kong; Michael Perry and Louise Heavens Edition
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