A dentist who participated in the Sunflower movement and visited Hong Kong in support of the “Umbrella movement” was refused entry into Macau by customs officials who said he was a “threat to internal security and stability.”
Shih Shu-hua (史書華), a member of a medical volunteer group during the Sunflower movement in March and April last year, said on Facebook that he had a “special experience” on Friday.
He was also denied a Hong Kong visa when trying to register for a planned entry on Thursday, which he attributed to an October visit. On that trip, during protests demanding democratic Hong Kong leadership elections, he made an onstage speech of support.
Photo: Screengrab from FattyMagic’s Facebook page
“I kind of expected the Macau rejection after I could not register for a Hong Kong visa,” he said.
Shih and his wife flew to Macau on Friday, but officials took him to a room where he was asked to wait and fill out forms, he said.
“The police kept saying that they knew nothing when [I] posed a series of questions, stressing that it was another unit that wanted to keep me there,” Shih said.
He called the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) in Macau and asked about being blacklisted by Chinese authorities.
“They confirmed the existence of a blacklist and said I might run into trouble if my name is identical to one of those listed,” Shih said.
Shih said he was told by Macau police that he would not be able to enter the enclave and was asked to sign a notice of refused entry.
The reason given was “to bar the entry of non-locals who pose a threat to ... security and stability.”
Mainland Affairs Council spokesperson Wu Mei-hung (吳美紅) told the Taipei Times that she has confirmed with the TECO in Macau that Shih did call the office for assistance on Friday.
“Our office contacted the Macau authorities and inquired into the matter. They said they were not able to provide the exact reason why Shih was rejected,” Wu said. “We would have TECO in Macau express our concerns to the government and call for its respect of our people’s rights of entry ... for tourism and business.”
SILENCING CRITICS: In addition to blocking Taiwan, China aimed to prevent rights activists from speaking out against authoritarian states, a Cabinet department said The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday condemned transnational repression by Beijing after RightsCon, a major digital human rights conference scheduled to be held in Zambia this week, was abruptly canceled due to Chinese pressure over Taiwanese participation. This year’s RightsCon, the world’s largest conference discussing issues “at the intersection of human rights and technology,” was scheduled to take place from tomorrow to Friday in Lusaka, and expected to draw 2,600 in-person attendees from 150 countries, along with 1,100 online participants. However, organizers were forced to cancel the event due to behind-the-scenes pressure from China, the ministry said, expressing its “strongest condemnation”
Taiwan’s economy grew far faster than expected in the first quarter, as booming demand for artificial intelligence (AI) applications drove a surge in exports, spilling over into investment and consumption, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said yesterday. GDP growth was 13.69 percent year-on-year during the January-to-March period, beating the DGBAS’ February forecast by 2.23 percentage points and marking the most robust growth in nearly four decades, DGBAS senior official Chiang Hsin-yi (江心怡) told a news conference in Taipei. The result was powered by exports, which remain the backbone of Taiwan’s economy, Chiang said. Outbound shipments jumped 51.12 percent year-on-year to
DELAYED BUT DETERMINED: The president’s visit highlights Taiwan’s right to international engagement amid regional pressure from China President Willaim Lai (賴清德) yesterday arrived in Eswatini, more than a week after his planned visit to Taiwan’s sole African ally was suspended because of revoked overflight permits. “The visit, originally scheduled for April 22, was postponed due to unforeseen external factors,” Lai wrote on social media. “After several days of careful arrangements by our diplomatic and national security teams, we successfully arrived today.” Lai said he looked forward to further deepening Taiwan-Eswatini relations through closer cooperation in the economy, agriculture, culture and education, as well as advancing the nation’s international partnerships. The president was initially scheduled to arrive in time to celebrate
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp (IRGC) yesterday said the US faced a choice between an “impossible” military operation or a “bad deal” with Tehran, after US President Donald Trump disparaged Iran’s latest peace proposal. Negotiations between the two countries have been deadlocked since a ceasefire came into effect on April 8, with only one round of direct peace talks held so far. Iran’s Tasnim and Fars news agencies reported that Tehran had submitted a 14-point proposal to mediator Pakistan, but Trump was quick to cast doubt on it. “I will soon be reviewing the plan that Iran has just sent to us, but
RSS