A Taiwanese doctor mocked Chinese President Hu Jintao’s (胡錦濤) recent comments on improving cross-strait exchanges after Chinese authorities refused to accept his visa application because he possessed “special status.”
National Taiwan University Hospital intensive care unit section chief Ke Wen-cher (柯文哲), who has openly criticized the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) in the past, told reporters that his “Taiwanese compatriot travel documents” (台胞證) application was rejected despite the fact that he was invited to speak at a series of medical lectures in China.
“Taiwanese compatriot travel documents” are issued by authorities in China to Taiwanese who wish to travel to China.
“It is quite ironic that I was rejected the same day as Hu’s proclamation on boosting cross-strait exchanges,” said Ke, adding that Chinese consular officers had refused to process his applications because they said Ke was a man of “special status.”
Ke said he had traveled to China at least a dozen times during the former Democratic Progressive Party’s rule. However, despite warming cross-strait relations and Hu’s purported efforts to increase cross-strait exchanges, he said has now been restricted from entering China.
“If my criticism of Ma and the KMT is the reason why I have been blacklisted, then I will take the rejection as a sign that the Taiwanese public approves of me and that I have made some contribution to society,” he said.
Ke, known for being outspoken, made news when he volunteered to treat a man who had been speared by a metal pole during the protests against Chinese envoy Chen Yunlin (陳雲林) during his visit to Taiwan in November.
The Straits Exchange Foundation, which represents Taiwan in all cross-strait negotiations and communications, said it was looking into the matter.
The Taipei Department of Health yesterday said it has launched a probe into a restaurant at Far Eastern Sogo Xinyi A13 Department Store after a customer died of suspected food poisoning. A preliminary investigation on Sunday found missing employee health status reports and unsanitary kitchen utensils at Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) in the department store’s basement food court, the department said. No direct relationship between the food poisoning death and the restaurant was established, as no food from the day of the incident was available for testing and no other customers had reported health complaints, it said, adding that the investigation is ongoing. Later
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