Mainland Affairs Council Minister Andrew Hsia (夏立言) faced criticism at a legislative committee meeting yesterday over his “over-optimistic” interpretation of a response to the government’s request to visit Taiwanese detained in China following their deportation from Kenya.
At the Internal Administration Committee meeting, several lawmakers asked when the government planned to send officials to China to visit the 45 Taiwanese who were “illegally abducted” by China from Kenya on Friday last week and Tuesday.
Twenty-three of them were acquitted by a Kenyan court on Friday last week in a 2014 telecom fraud case, while the other 22 Taiwanese were among a group of 41 suspects arrested by Kenyan police on the same day.
Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Taipei Times
When answering questions from Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Huang Chao-shun (黃昭順) regarding visiting the detained Taiwanese, Hsia said that China’s Taiwan Affairs Office sent a fax earlier yesterday welcoming such a visit and that the council would endeavor to make the trip possible within the next two or three days.
“Although Beijing requires more time to handle some administrative procedures and collect evidence, we have stressed the importance of a visit,” Hsia said.
Hsia said that as the heads of government agencies including the council, the Ministry of Justice, the Criminal Investigation Bureau and the Straits Exchange Foundation were swamped with work, their deputies might go instead.
However, after obtaining a copy of the fax — which the council said was classified — People First Party Legislator Chen Yi-chieh (陳怡潔) accused Hsia of being naively optimistic and making a fool of lawmakers.
“It clearly states that ‘it would be inconvenient for you to send people here for communications at the moment.’ Is my Mandarin too poor to understand this sentence, or is the council being too optimistic?” Chen asked.
“We have no doubt such a visit would be possible and we will talk to agencies [in Beijing] regarding the matter,” Hsia said.
Chen said the content of the fax by no means suggested that China would allow such a visit in the near future, before handing over the document to Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁), who is convener of the committee.
Chen Chi-mai then read out the fax: “We welcome your officials. We are willing to engage in cross-strait communications within the framework of the Cross-Strait Joint Crime-Fighting and Judicial Mutual Assistance Agreement (海峽兩岸共同打擊犯罪及司法互助協議).”
“As the suspects have just been brought back, we still need some time to undergo processes and verify certain issues. Hence, it would be inconvenient for you to send people here for discussions at the moment, but we will actively prepare for bilateral communications. We will keep you informed. The wait will not be too long,” the fax said.
“However, we must stress that according to Chinese law, it would be difficult for us to arrange a visit with the suspects. Nevertheless, if families of the suspects file for visitation rights, we would process them in accordance with the regulations,” it said.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
Temperatures in northern Taiwan are forecast to reach as high as 30°C today, as an ongoing northeasterly seasonal wind system weakens, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said yesterday that with the seasonal wind system weakening, warmer easterly winds would boost the temperature today. Daytime temperatures in northern Taiwan and Yilan County are expected to range from 28°C to 30°C today, up about 3°C from yesterday, Tseng said. According to the CWA, temperature highs in central and southern Taiwan could stay stable. However, the weather is expected to turn cooler starting tonight as the northeasterly wind system strengthens again
Taiwan sweltered through its hottest October on record, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, the latest in a string of global temperature records. The main island endured its highest average temperature since 1950, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng said. Temperatures the world over have soared in recent years as human-induced climate change contributes to ever more erratic weather patterns. Taiwan’s average temperature was 27.381°C as of Thursday, Liu said. Liu said the average could slip 0.1°C by the end of yesterday, but it would still be higher than the previous record of 27.009°C in 2016. "The temperature only started lowering around Oct. 18 or 19
RSS