The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Sunday expressed regret over the deportation of Sunflower movement activist Chen Wei-ting (陳為廷) by Hong Kong authorities earlier in the day.
The council urged Hong Kong to ensure the protection of freedom and human rights. It added that it would contact the Hong Kong government to learn the reason for its decision to deport Chen.
Chen returned to Taiwan on Sunday night after Hong Kong immigration authorities denied him entry earlier in the day.
Hong Kong immigration officers told Chen that he was denied entry due to “political reasons,” according to a spokeswoman for Taiwan March, a group initiated by Chen and other activists.
The Hong Kong Department of Immigration said it would not comment on “any individual case” when asked about Chen’s deportation, Hong Kong media reported.
Chen was trying to enter Hong Kong with a valid Mainland Travel Permit for Taiwanese residents, which is the travel document required of Taiwanese nationals visiting Hong Kong, but he was denied entry after his arrival in Hong Kong.
To visit Hong Kong, Taiwanese nationals must present such a travel document or apply for pre-arrival registration through an online system.
Chen’s application for pre--arrival registration for Hong Kong was denied a few days ago.
Chen flew to Hong Kong at about noon on Sunday intending to support the Occupy Central campaign that is pushing for the full implementation of universal suffrage there and participate in a rally scheduled for today.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
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A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
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