Conflicting reports over whether Taiwan's top official in the former Portuguese colony of Macau is to be replaced have fueled speculation that his decision to remove the signs for Taiwan's unofficial office there has angered his superiors.
A local paper said yesterday that top government officials had decided to sack William Li (
Li had ordered his staff to move the office's nameplate from outside the building as a gesture of "mutual respect" between Taipei and Macau on the night of Dec. 19, just one hour before the handover.
Macau police had reportedly put pressure on Li to remove the office's nameplate during the handover ceremonies -- an act seen by the government here as harmful to "national dignity."
Li's move had apparently angered top government officials, as he was recalled on Dec. 21 to explain his decision to remove the nameplate.
In an interview with the local paper, an unnamed MAC official said the government had not ruled out retaliatory actions, including closing the office altogether if the new Macau government "res-ponds with unfriendly steps."
However, a Central News Agency report later claimed Li might not be facing dismissal.
To handle the issue, MAC Chairman Su Chi (蘇起) reportedly cut short his vacation yesterday morning while he was on his way to the CKS Airport for a flight to Guam.
Officials at the Mainland Affairs Council said yesterday that the office's name would be changed to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Center (台北經濟?????? on Dec. 27 and run by the MAC.
Taiwan had previously suggested that any acts deemed hostile could be met with countermeasures, such as denying Macau residents the right to work in Taiwan. Some 30,000 Macau people, accounting for 7 percent of its entire population, currently work in Taiwan.
Last year there were 820,000 arrivals from Taiwan, most using the Portuguese territory as a stepping stone to China.
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