Hong Kong's refusal of Taipei City Mayor Ma Ying-jeou's (
"If it is indeed because Ma spoke negatively about the anti-secession legislation that he is unable to go to Hong Kong, then this would prove to be a complete obliteration of the `one country, two systems' model," Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Vice Chairman Chiu Tai-san (
Media reports from Hong Kong have pointed to Ma's recent criticism of China's anti-secession bill as the reason behind the visa complications, but Chiu said the council was working to get an official explanation.
Chiu also responded to inquiries as to whether Ma's announcement that he'd failed to secure a visa was politically motivated, aimed at demonstrating to Taiwanese constituents that his relationship with Chinese authorities is not as cozy as some believe.
While Chiu responded in the negative, saying that the presidential elections were a long way off, he said he felt that the Hong Kong government's rejection of Ma's visa application made evident the possible impact of the anti-secession law.
"If someone like Ma is unable to secure a visa because of his remarks regarding the anti-secession bill, then what will become of others in Taiwan who criticize the bill? Won't it be even worse? The withholding of a visa for Ma will only turn the Taiwanese people away from the bill," Chiu said.
Meanwhile, Taiwan's de facto representative to Hong Kong, Pao Cheng-kang (鮑正鋼), yesterday echoed the Executive Yuan, calling on the government of Hong Kong to provide an explanation for its refusal to issue Ma a visa, according to the Central News Agency.
"Ma was to visit Hong Kong at the invitation of Hong Kong University ... and the visit would have had nothing to do with politics. Many citizens of Hong Kong have already expressed regret regarding the government's temporary refusal to issue a visa," the news agency quoted Pao as saying.
Pao said he had already contacted Hong Kong officials for an explanation, but that no response had been given.
According to the report, Pao said that the government's suggestion that Hong Kong University invite Ma again in April indicated there was some flexibility in the matter.
Police have issued warnings against traveling to Cambodia or Thailand when others have paid for the travel fare in light of increasing cases of teenagers, middle-aged and elderly people being tricked into traveling to these countries and then being held for ransom. Recounting their ordeal, one victim on Monday said she was asked by a friend to visit Thailand and help set up a bank account there, for which they would be paid NT$70,000 to NT$100,000 (US$2,136 to US$3,051). The victim said she had not found it strange that her friend was not coming along on the trip, adding that when she
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A tourist who was struck and injured by a train in a scenic area of New Taipei City’s Pingsi District (平溪) on Monday might be fined for trespassing on the tracks, the Railway Police Bureau said yesterday. The New Taipei City Fire Department said it received a call at 4:37pm on Monday about an incident in Shifen (十分), a tourist destination on the Pingsi Railway Line. After arriving on the scene, paramedics treated a woman in her 30s for a 3cm to 5cm laceration on her head, the department said. She was taken to a hospital in Keelung, it said. Surveillance footage from a
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