A dentist who participated in the Sunflower movement and visited Hong Kong in support of the “Umbrella movement” was refused entry into Macau by customs officials who said he was a “threat to internal security and stability.”
Shih Shu-hua (史書華), a member of a medical volunteer group during the Sunflower movement in March and April last year, said on Facebook that he had a “special experience” on Friday.
He was also denied a Hong Kong visa when trying to register for a planned entry on Thursday, which he attributed to an October visit. On that trip, during protests demanding democratic Hong Kong leadership elections, he made an onstage speech of support.
Photo: Screengrab from FattyMagic’s Facebook page
“I kind of expected the Macau rejection after I could not register for a Hong Kong visa,” he said.
Shih and his wife flew to Macau on Friday, but officials took him to a room where he was asked to wait and fill out forms, he said.
“The police kept saying that they knew nothing when [I] posed a series of questions, stressing that it was another unit that wanted to keep me there,” Shih said.
He called the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) in Macau and asked about being blacklisted by Chinese authorities.
“They confirmed the existence of a blacklist and said I might run into trouble if my name is identical to one of those listed,” Shih said.
Shih said he was told by Macau police that he would not be able to enter the enclave and was asked to sign a notice of refused entry.
The reason given was “to bar the entry of non-locals who pose a threat to ... security and stability.”
Mainland Affairs Council spokesperson Wu Mei-hung (吳美紅) told the Taipei Times that she has confirmed with the TECO in Macau that Shih did call the office for assistance on Friday.
“Our office contacted the Macau authorities and inquired into the matter. They said they were not able to provide the exact reason why Shih was rejected,” Wu said. “We would have TECO in Macau express our concerns to the government and call for its respect of our people’s rights of entry ... for tourism and business.”
‘TAIWAN-FRIENDLY’: The last time the Web site fact sheet removed the lines on the US not supporting Taiwanese independence was during the Biden administration in 2022 The US Department of State has removed a statement on its Web site that it does not support Taiwanese independence, among changes that the Taiwanese government praised yesterday as supporting Taiwan. The Taiwan-US relations fact sheet, produced by the department’s Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, previously stated that the US opposes “any unilateral changes to the status quo from either side; we do not support Taiwan independence; and we expect cross-strait differences to be resolved by peaceful means.” In the updated version published on Thursday, the line stating that the US does not support Taiwanese independence had been removed. The updated
‘CORRECT IDENTIFICATION’: Beginning in May, Taiwanese married to Japanese can register their home country as Taiwan in their spouse’s family record, ‘Nikkei Asia’ said The government yesterday thanked Japan for revising rules that would allow Taiwanese nationals married to Japanese citizens to list their home country as “Taiwan” in the official family record database. At present, Taiwanese have to select “China.” Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said the new rule, set to be implemented in May, would now “correctly” identify Taiwanese in Japan and help protect their rights, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. The statement was released after Nikkei Asia reported the new policy earlier yesterday. The name and nationality of a non-Japanese person marrying a Japanese national is added to the
AT RISK: The council reiterated that people should seriously consider the necessity of visiting China, after Beijing passed 22 guidelines to punish ‘die-hard’ separatists The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has since Jan. 1 last year received 65 petitions regarding Taiwanese who were interrogated or detained in China, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. Fifty-two either went missing or had their personal freedoms restricted, with some put in criminal detention, while 13 were interrogated and temporarily detained, he said in a radio interview. On June 21 last year, China announced 22 guidelines to punish “die-hard Taiwanese independence separatists,” allowing Chinese courts to try people in absentia. The guidelines are uncivilized and inhumane, allowing Beijing to seize assets and issue the death penalty, with no regard for potential
‘UNITED FRONT’ FRONTS: Barring contact with Huaqiao and Jinan universities is needed to stop China targeting Taiwanese students, the education minister said Taiwan has blacklisted two Chinese universities from conducting academic exchange programs in the nation after reports that the institutes are arms of Beijing’s United Front Work Department, Minister of Education Cheng Ying-yao (鄭英耀) said in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper) published yesterday. China’s Huaqiao University in Xiamen and Quanzhou, as well as Jinan University in Guangzhou, which have 600 and 1,500 Taiwanese on their rolls respectively, are under direct control of the Chinese government’s political warfare branch, Cheng said, citing reports by national security officials. A comprehensive ban on Taiwanese institutions collaborating or
RSS