Two senior officials with the Mainland Affairs Council have been denied Hong Kong visas, apparently because of their seniority in the government.
Department of Hong Kong and Macau Affairs director Chang Yung-shan (
With Hong Kong gearing up for crucial legislative elections, several lower-ranking officials from the nation's top cross-strait policymaking body arrived yesterday in Hong Kong to observe election preparations.
Chen's deputy, Lo Muh-kuen (羅木坤), was the highest-ranked official in the council's "delegation" yesterday, though Lo was able to enter Hong Kong on a three-year visa that was issued before he took up his current position.
Council officials in the past have had a difficult time trying to enter Hong Kong. Most notably, the visa application of former council Vice Chairman Alexander Huang (黃介正) was denied in December despite his wife's status as a Hong Kong resident.
Only a handful of administrative staff from the council's Information and Liaison department and the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs department were authorized to enter Hong Kong yesterday.
The officials and members of the Taiwanese press corps will be in Hong Kong until Friday. The legislative elections will be held on Sunday.
The council's itinerary includes meetings with political scientists and Taiwanese businessmen, candidates from the main political parties and several interest groups.
However, it was learned late yesterday that the itinerary may be changed by Hong Kong officials because the group was perceived to be of an overtly official nature.
Officials at Taiwan's de facto consulate, the Chung Hwa Travel Service, complained yesterday of similar difficulties in obtaining visas.
While nominally a travel agency, the office also operates as the council's Hong Kong branch.
James Chang (張志宇), director of the Department of General Affairs, said that former council secretary-general Pao Cheng-kang (鮑正鋼), the Hong Kong office's new managing director and de facto representative to Hong Kong, has been waiting for his visa to be authorized since being appointed to the position in May.
James Chang explained that the previous Hong Kong representative, Chang Liang-jen (
"Those working at the Hong Kong Affairs Office do not get any sort of protection," Huang said.
"Unlike the treatment afforded to other consulates, the Hong Kong government does not recognize the office as being of a governmental nature," he said.
Huang said that of the approximately 90 staff members at the branch, only about 15 are Taiwanese.
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