A Hong Kong bookseller who in 2019 relocated to Taipei after being prosecuted by Chinese authorities recently applied for permanent residency in Taiwan, a government source said on Monday last week.
The move came after Lam Wing-kei (林榮基), a former manager of Hong Kong’s Causeway Bay Books, initially did not accept the “humanitarian aid” political asylum offered by the government.
In 2015, Lam, another shareholder of Causeway Bay Books and three staff members were reported missing and later confirmed to be detained by mainland Chinese authorities, which accused them of selling books about the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) that are prohibited in mainland China.
Photo: Johnson Lai, AP
Lam was imprisoned for nearly eight months, and the CCP asked him to disclose the bookstore’s customers and their orders in exchange for his release. Lam in June 2016 returned to Hong Kong, with his criminal record showing a conviction in China for “illegal operation of book sales.”
When widespread protests over a proposed extradition bill to mainland China rocked the territory in 2019, Lam on April 25 fled to Taiwan, saying that he feared being prosecuted again by mainland authorities.
With the support of a crowdfunding campaign, Lam in April 2020 reopened Causeway Bay Books in Taipei.
An unnamed official in Taipei last week said that the central government had helped Lam apply for permanent residency.
In addition to helping other Taiwan-based Hong Kongers, Lam has been working hard to run his bookstore in Taipei, conveying his principles and ideas to Taiwanese one book at a time, the official said.
While often speaking out about his experiences in China, Lam helps Taiwan protect its freedom and democracy, they said.
Lam, as a “modest gentleman,” initially refused to accept the offer of political asylum and has since 2019 been staying in the nation on a temporary residence permit, they added.
Lam had applied with the Ministry of Culture for permanent residency as a “special professional” in the field of culture, the official said.
If the ministry approves his application, it would forward the case to the National Immigration Agency, which would issue a permanent residency card, the official said.
Government data show that 11,173 Hong Kongers hold residence permits in Taiwan, including 1,685 who were granted permanent residency last year, an annual record.
In the first seven months of this year, 4,143 Hong Kongers received temporary residence permits and 892 received permanent residency, the data show.
Twenty-four Republican members of the US House of Representatives yesterday introduced a concurrent resolution calling on the US government to abolish the “one China” policy and restore formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Led by US representatives Tom Tiffany and Scott Perry, the resolution calls for not only re-establishing formal relations, but also urges the US Trade Representative to negotiate a free-trade agreement (FTA) with Taiwan and for US officials to advocate for Taiwan’s full membership in the UN and other international organizations. In a news release announcing the resolution, Tiffany, who represents a Wisconsin district, called the “one China” policy “outdated, counterproductive
Actress Barbie Hsu (徐熙媛) has “returned home” to Taiwan, and there are no plans to hold a funeral for the TV star who died in Japan from influenza- induced pneumonia, her family said in a statement Wednesday night. The statement was released after local media outlets reported that Barbie Hsu’s ashes were brought back Taiwan on board a private jet, which arrived at Taipei Songshan Airport around 3 p.m. on Wednesday. To the reporters waiting at the airport, the statement issued by the family read “(we) appreciate friends working in the media for waiting in the cold weather.” “She has safely returned home.
TRUMP ERA: The change has sparked speculation on whether it was related to the new US president’s plan to dismiss more than 1,000 Joe Biden-era appointees The US government has declined to comment on a post that indicated the departure of Laura Rosenberger as chair of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT). Neither the US Department of State nor the AIT has responded to the Central News Agency’s questions on the matter, after Rosenberger was listed as a former chair on the AIT’s official Web site, with her tenure marked as 2023 to this year. US officials have said previously that they usually do not comment on personnel changes within the government. Rosenberger was appointed head of the AIT in 2023, during the administration of former US president Joe
ON PAROLE: The 73-year-old suspect has a criminal record of rape committed when he was serving in the military, as well as robbery and theft, police said The Kaohsiung District Court yesterday approved the detention of a 73-year-old man for allegedly murdering three women. The suspect, surnamed Chang (張), was arrested on Wednesday evening in connection with the death of a 71-year-old woman surnamed Chao (趙). The Kaohsiung City Police Department yesterday also unveiled the identities of two other possible victims in the serial killing case, a 75-year-old woman surnamed Huang (黃), the suspect’s sister-in-law, and a 75-year-old woman surnamed Chang (張), who is not related to the suspect. The case came to light when Chao disappeared after taking the suspect back to his residence on Sunday. Police, upon reviewing CCTV
RSS