Print

Mail

wiki links

Politics over visa forces Tzeng to cancel China trip

The Mainland Affairs Council said yesterday it deeply regretted China's inability to separate politics and sports.

The announcement came after Minister of Education Ovid Tzeng (曾志朗) refused to attend the 2001 World University Games in Beijing because he would have to carry a "Taiwan compatriot travel document" (台胞證) instead of a passport.

"We regret that communist China can not let sports be sports and politics be politics," the council said in a statement.

Beijing refuses to recognize ROC passports and instead demands citizens from Taiwan to carry the Chinese travel document.

Tzeng said that China was treating him as a domestic government official by asking him to use the travel document to enter China, and he hoped that China would allow him to enter on his ROC passport or through his special invitation from the International University Sports Federation.

"If I need to enter China with a visa, I would rather enter China by holding a visa that is issued to the ROC," Tzeng said in a statement released by the Ministry of Education.

The president of the International University Sports Federation, George Killian, said that he was unaware of Beijing's politicization of sports.

Chen Jung-sheng (陳榮盛), representing the Chinese Taipei athletes, said that they had been treated the same as competitors from other member countries, although all members of the group entered China with a "Taiwan compatriot travel document." "We have been treated well, but we regret that Minister Tzeng isn't being treated fairly," Chen said.

Lee Kuo-pin (李國彬), who is in charge of the Taiwan delegation, said that all attendees entered China by obtaining China visas and not through special invitations.

"According to the federation's regulations, honored guests and athletes are required to enter China holding visas issued by China. Attendees from Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau are required to hold travel documents," Lee told Chinese-language media yesterday.

But China is capricious when inviting Taiwanese to attend international activities and conferences hosted.

While Tzeng refused to enter China using a "Taiwan compatriot travel document," Minister of the Interior Chang Po-ya (張博雅) entered China recently without any check at airport customs.

Chang went to China to attend the APEC Women Leader's Network Meeting.

Beijing issued Chang's invitation a week ago and recognized her as a minister on the invitation. Chang told Chinese-language media that she was satisfied with Beijing's treatment but that she was unsure whether that represented the typical way that Beijing treats Taiwanese officials.

This story has been viewed 2057 times.