The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has released new guidelines advising government employees visiting Hong Kong and Macau not to take part in any activity that could be construed as contravening the Chinese territories’ new national security law.
Officials from the Executive Yuan and its affiliated organizations or agencies should also refrain from making comments deemed illegal by the territories’ governments and not visit “banned areas,” the council said.
The council recently amended the Regulations for Executive Yuan and Affiliated Organizations and Agencies on Visiting Hong Kong or Macau (行政院及所屬各機關(構)人員赴香港或澳門注意事項) following the Hong Kong government’s passage in March of the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance, commonly known as Article 23.
Photo: AP
According to an unnamed source, the Executive Yuan has notified ministries and agencies that the amendment takes effect immediately.
The amendment urges government officials traveling to Hong Kong or Macau to attend events or meetings to plan their trips carefully, avoid discussing sensitive matters, and assess and form contingency plans regarding possible risks.
Government officials can solicit the opinions of the council if necessary, the statement said.
Officials should observe standing regulations and refrain from taking official files unrelated to the events or meetings they would attend in Hong Kong or Macau, and ensure that any cellphones or laptops they carry contain only information about those events or meetings, the statement said.
Officials traveling to Hong Kong or Macau should, in principle, take planes or ships operated by Taiwanese companies whether on official business or not, the amendment states.
During their stay in Hong Kong or Macau, government officials should refrain from speaking or acting in ways which the local governments would consider illegal.
Additionally, they should not stray close to “banned areas” as defined by the national security laws.
Article 23 states that any acts of espionage, defined as infiltrating, coming near to or investigating “banned areas,” either in person or via uncrewed vehicles, or attempts to intercept communications to obtain directly or indirectly helpful information benefiting foreign forces, could be punishable by imprisonment for 20 years.
Banned areas are defined as military or national defense-related areas within the Hong Kong and Macau regions, areas that the Garrison Law designate as off-limits military areas, or locations and transportation facilities that the local governments occupy for military or national defense purposes.
Officials are also advised to be cautious, travel in groups and not visit areas with known protests or processions or enter questionable facilities alone, the council said.
If officials experience any attempts by the Chinese authorities to detain, arrest, restrict their freedom of movement, search or interrogate them, they should contact the MAC Hong Kong or Macau office for assistance, the council said.
STILL COMMITTED: The US opposes any forced change to the ‘status quo’ in the Strait, but also does not seek conflict, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said US President Donald Trump’s administration released US$5.3 billion in previously frozen foreign aid, including US$870 million in security exemptions for programs in Taiwan, a list of exemptions reviewed by Reuters showed. Trump ordered a 90-day pause on foreign aid shortly after taking office on Jan. 20, halting funding for everything from programs that fight starvation and deadly diseases to providing shelters for millions of displaced people across the globe. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who has said that all foreign assistance must align with Trump’s “America First” priorities, issued waivers late last month on military aid to Israel and Egypt, the
France’s nuclear-powered aircraft carrier and accompanying warships were in the Philippines yesterday after holding combat drills with Philippine forces in the disputed South China Sea in a show of firepower that would likely antagonize China. The Charles de Gaulle on Friday docked at Subic Bay, a former US naval base northwest of Manila, for a break after more than two months of deployment in the Indo-Pacific region. The French carrier engaged with security allies for contingency readiness and to promote regional security, including with Philippine forces, navy ships and fighter jets. They held anti-submarine warfare drills and aerial combat training on Friday in
COMBAT READINESS: The military is reviewing weaponry, personnel resources, and mobilization and recovery forces to adjust defense strategies, the defense minister said The military has released a photograph of Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) appearing to sit beside a US general during the annual Han Kuang military exercises on Friday last week in a historic first. In the photo, Koo, who was presiding over the drills with high-level officers, appears to be sitting next to US Marine Corps Major General Jay Bargeron, the director of strategic planning and policy of the US Indo-Pacific Command, although only Bargeron’s name tag is visible in the seat as “J5 Maj General.” It is the first time the military has released a photo of an active
CHANGE OF MIND: The Chinese crew at first showed a willingness to cooperate, but later regretted that when the ship arrived at the port and refused to enter Togolese Republic-registered Chinese freighter Hong Tai (宏泰號) and its crew have been detained on suspicion of deliberately damaging a submarine cable connecting Taiwan proper and Penghu County, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement yesterday. The case would be subject to a “national security-level investigation” by the Tainan District Prosecutors’ Office, it added. The administration said that it had been monitoring the ship since 7:10pm on Saturday when it appeared to be loitering in waters about 6 nautical miles (11km) northwest of Tainan’s Chiang Chun Fishing Port, adding that the ship’s location was about 0.5 nautical miles north of the No.
RSS