China’s Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Hong Kong has asked foreign consulates in Hong Kong to submit details of their local staff, which is more proof that the “one country, two systems” model no longer exists, a Taiwanese academic said.
The office sent letters dated Monday last week to consulates in the territory, giving them one month to submit the information it requires.
The move followed Beijing’s attempt to obtain floor plans for all properties used by foreign missions in Hong Kong last year, which raised concerns among diplomats that the information could be used for espionage or to install listening devices.
Photo: Reuters
The Hong Kong authorities said on the submission form that the information was being collected in accordance with the principle of proportionality and common international practices.
The personal data collected would be handed over to agents of the relevant bureaus, departments or agencies to manage local employees of the consulates, the note said.
The information required includes names, titles, dates of appointment, addresses, identification card or travel document numbers and nationalities of the employees.
The employees are also required to provide copies of their identification cards or travel documents.
The office on Wednesday last week said the request is in line with the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations and common international practice.
In Taipei, an official familiar with Hong Kong and Macau affairs said that it was “not surprising” that the foreign consulates would receive this kind of request from China, adding that it might be related to the widening of the Counter-Espionage Law in July.
The Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Hong Kong of Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council did not receive such a request as it is “special” to Beijing, the official said.
National Cheng Kung University political science professor Hung Chin-fu (洪敬富) said that amending the Counter-Espionage Law, the Foreign Relations Law and the Patriotic Education Law to expand the scope of their applications to Hong Kong and Macau, as well as requesting information from foreign consulates showed that Beijing is suspecting Hong Kongers of working for hostile foreign forces.
Hong Kongers are perceived as actors who could threaten China’s interests or subvert the Chinese government, Hung said.
The move might have a chilling effect and make it more difficult for the West to have normal interaction with China, Hung added.
The vague definition of spies in the Counter-Espionage Law leaves those working in foreign consulates open to being charged falsely, he said.
Hong Kong citizens have no autonomy as they have to comply with Chinese laws under the so-called “one country, two systems” model, adopting the “New Era” ideology of Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), he said.
“The non-existence of the ‘one country, two systems’ model has been proven once again,” he said.
Theaters and institutions in Taiwan have received 28 threatening e-mails, including bomb threats, since a documentary critical of China began being screened across the nation last month, the National Security Bureau said yesterday. The actions are part of China’s attempts to undermine Taiwan’s sovereignty, it said. State Organs (國有器官) documents allegations that Chinese government officials engage in organ harvesting and other illegal activities. From last month to Friday last week, 28 incidents have been reported of theaters or institutions receiving threats, including bomb and shooting threats, if they did not stop showing the documentary, the bureau said. Although the threats were not carried out,
‘GRAY ZONE’ TACTICS: China continues to build up its military capacity while regularly deploying jets and warships around Taiwan, with the latest balloon spotted on Sunday The US is drawing up contingency plans for military deployments in Japan and the Philippines in case of a Taiwan emergency, Japan’s Kyodo news agency reported. They would be incorporated in a first joint operation plan to be formulated in December, Kyodo reported late on Sunday, citing sources familiar with Japan-US relations. A US Marine Corps regiment that possesses High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems — a light multiple rocket launcher — would be deployed along the Nansei Island chain stretching from Kyushu to Yonaguni near Taiwan, Kyodo said. According to US military guidelines for dispatching marines in small formations to several locations,
As Taiwan celebrated its baseball team’s victory in the World Baseball Softball Confederation’s Premier12 on Sunday, how politicians referred to the team in their congratulatory messages reflected the nation’s political divide. Taiwan, competing under the name Chinese Taipei (中華台北隊), made history with its first-ever Premier12 championship after beating Japan 4-0 at the Tokyo Dome. Right after the game, President William Lai (賴清德) congratulated the team via a post on his Facebook page. Besides the players, Lai also lauded the team’s coaching and medical staff, and the fans cheering for them in Tokyo or watching the live broadcast, saying that “every
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday confirmed that Chinese students visiting Taiwan at the invitation of the Ma Ying-jeou Foundation were almost all affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). During yesterday’s meeting convened by the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Michelle Lin (林楚茵) asked whether the visit was a way to spread China’s so-called “united front” rhetoric, to which MAC Deputy Ministry Shen You-chung (沈有忠) responded with the CCP comment. The MAC noticed that the Chinese individuals visiting Taiwan, including those in sports, education, or religion, have had increasingly impressive backgrounds, demonstrating that the