Sunflower movement leader Chen Wei-ting (陳為廷) was denied entry to Hong Kong yesterday after he tried to go to the former British colony to participate in the pro-democracy movement there.
After returning to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Chen recounted his experience, saying that immigration officers had taken him aside while he was passing through customs at Hong Kong International Airport and led him to a small room.
Chen said the officials told him that his “Taiwan compatriot’s travel document” (台胞證) — a permit issued by Chinese authorities allowing Taiwanese to travel to China that can also be used to enter Hong Kong — had been nullified.
Photo: CNA
However, Chen said the document was not due to expire until 2018.
The Sunflower leader said the officials searched him, which added to his feeling that he was being treated like a terrorist.
He was then escorted by the officers onto a flight bound for Taiwan that departed at 5:45pm and arrived at Taoyuan International Airport at about 7:30pm.
Prior to departing from the Taoyuan airport at 2pm yesterday, Chen said he was going to Hong Kong to join in activists’ fight for democracy.
“I hope that Beijing and the Hong Kong government will not try to block the interaction and exchanges between civic groups in Taiwan and in Hong Kong,” he said. “If Hong Kong decides to deport me, I will have no choice but to come back, but I’d like to see how the Mainland Affairs Council will react, since it once said that it would try to give me a hand in such matters.”
Chen was referring to Hong Kong authorities’ denial of visa applications filed by himself and his fellow Taiwan March cofounders Lin Fei-fan (林飛帆) and Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) last week.
The trio had intended to join pro-democracy demonstrations taking place in the territory.
Despite their failure to get visas, Chen decided to travel to Hong Kong anyway using his “Taiwan compatriot’s travel document.”
Lin and Huang could not accompany him, as they do not have the travel permit.
Chinese dissident Wang Dan (王丹), who is living in exile in Taiwan, expressed support for Chen’s efforts on Facebook, writing: “Although he was denied a visa, Chen still decided to go to Hong Kong [yesterday]. He may not be allowed into Hong Kong, but our friends in Hong Kong should get a clear message: Those who participated in Taiwan’s Sunflower movement will be standing firmly together with the force for democracy in Hong Kong.”
“The demonstration on July 1 [tomorrow] is coming — Hong Kongers, you are not alone,” Wang posted.
Additional reporting by Yao Chi-hsiu
Super Typhoon Kong-rey is the largest cyclone to impact Taiwan in 27 years, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said today. Kong-rey’s radius of maximum wind (RMW) — the distance between the center of a cyclone and its band of strongest winds — has expanded to 320km, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said. The last time a typhoon of comparable strength with an RMW larger than 300km made landfall in Taiwan was Typhoon Herb in 1996, he said. Herb made landfall between Keelung and Suao (蘇澳) in Yilan County with an RMW of 350km, Chang said. The weather station in Alishan (阿里山) recorded 1.09m of
NO WORK, CLASS: President William Lai urged people in the eastern, southern and northern parts of the country to be on alert, with Typhoon Kong-rey approaching Typhoon Kong-rey is expected to make landfall on Taiwan’s east coast today, with work and classes canceled nationwide. Packing gusts of nearly 300kph, the storm yesterday intensified into a typhoon and was expected to gain even more strength before hitting Taitung County, the US Navy’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center said. The storm is forecast to cross Taiwan’s south, enter the Taiwan Strait and head toward China, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The CWA labeled the storm a “strong typhoon,” the most powerful on its scale. Up to 1.2m of rainfall was expected in mountainous areas of eastern Taiwan and destructive winds are likely
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday at 5:30pm issued a sea warning for Typhoon Kong-rey as the storm drew closer to the east coast. As of 8pm yesterday, the storm was 670km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻) and traveling northwest at 12kph to 16kph. It was packing maximum sustained winds of 162kph and gusts of up to 198kph, the CWA said. A land warning might be issued this morning for the storm, which is expected to have the strongest impact on Taiwan from tonight to early Friday morning, the agency said. Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼) and Green Island (綠島) canceled classes and work
KONG-REY: A woman was killed in a vehicle hit by a tree, while 205 people were injured as the storm moved across the nation and entered the Taiwan Strait Typhoon Kong-rey slammed into Taiwan yesterday as one of the biggest storms to hit the nation in decades, whipping up 10m waves, triggering floods and claiming at least one life. Kong-rey made landfall in Taitung County’s Chenggong Township (成功) at 1:40pm, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The typhoon — the first in Taiwan’s history to make landfall after mid-October — was moving north-northwest at 21kph when it hit land, CWA data showed. The fast-moving storm was packing maximum sustained winds of 184kph, with gusts of up to 227kph, CWA data showed. It was the same strength as Typhoon Gaemi, which was the most
RSS