Former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) is to attend an awards ceremony for Asian journalists in Hong Kong later this month — his first trip abroad since leaving office on May 20.
In an announcement issued yesterday, Ma’s office said the former head of state is due to attend the Society of Publishers in Asia Awards (SOPA) for Editorial Excellence ceremony to be held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre on June 15, with Ma scheduled to give a speech in English on cross-strait relations and the situation in East Asia.
“The SOPA in January issued an invitation for Ma to be the keynote speaker for the awards event through a local publication, Commonwealth Magazine, whose founder and chairwoman Diane Ying (殷允芃) invited Ma again in person during an economic forum held by the magazine in Taipei on Jan. 21,” Ma’s office said.
Photo: David Chang, EPA
Established in 1982, the society is a non-profit organization based in Hong Kong that is dedicated to safeguarding freedom of the press, Ma’s office said, adding that the ceremony is a widely anticipated annual event held to recognize outstanding performances among journalists from Asian countries.
“Nevertheless, to prevent people with a vested interest from making a big fuss over the matter, Ma’s visit to Hong Kong is only to be a one-day trip. It will be transparent throughout the process and we welcome journalists to come along,” the office said.
According to a news release issued yesterday by the society, Ma is scheduled to share his thoughts on cross-strait ties, the significance of his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in Singapore in November last year and territorial disputes in the South China Sea.
The Ma-Xi meeting was the first meeting between leaders from both sides of the Taiwan Strait since the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949, which has been touted by Ma as the proof of his cross-strait rapprochement policy’s success.
Presidential Office spokesman Alex Huang (黃重諺) said the relevant application documents from Ma arrived at the office yesterday morning and that they would be processed in accordance with the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法).
Under Article 26 of the act, people who exercise the original classification authority, handle classified information within the scope of their official duty, retire or resign from the official positions mentioned in the act or have handled the transfer of classified information within three years should obtain prior approval before leaving the nation.
However, Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Wang Ting-yu (王定宇) said Ma is required by Article 32 of the Enforcement Rules of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法施行細則) to file a written application 20 days prior to his planned departure.
“I must warn Ma’s office that the former president has once again disregarded the law and the interest attached to the nation’s classified information,” Wang said.
“I should also remind the Presidential Office that … since it only received the application documents this morning, there is just one decision it can make — turn down Ma’s application,” he said.
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