Sat, Jul 09, 2011 page1

• Over-enthusiastic PRC tourist raises security concern

  • By Vincent Y. Chao / Staff Reporter
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  A Chinese tourist slipped her hand around President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) neck on Thursday in a stunning breach of security protocol that raised concerns about the head of state’s security.

  The woman, part of a large throng of Chinese tourists, reached past bodyguards in an attempt to hug the president as he left a photo exhibition commemorating the Sino-Japanese War at the National Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall, video footage showed.

  Ma was shaking hands with the tourists when the incident took place in the morning. Uniformed bodyguards around Ma failed to respond at first, but later managed to separate the two. A second attempt by the same woman was forcefully rebuffed.

  

  Chinese tourists surround President Ma Ying-jeou, front center, as he leaves a photo exhibition commemorating the Sino-Japanese War at National Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall in Taipei on Thursday.

  Photo: CNA

  Ma’s China-friendly policies, including easing restrictions on Chinese tourism, has made him a popular figure among Chinese visitors.

  The woman who tried to embrace Ma was heard saying that she was from Gansu Province. Local reports cited other Chinese tourists at the scene saying “it’s almost like a dream” to meet the Taiwanese president.

  Playing down the security threat, the Presidential Office said that secret service agents have contingency plans to deal with “enthusiastic Chinese tourists,” according to the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) — although it wasn’t clear if those measures were in place on Thursday.

  The number of visitors from China last month dropped 28 percent from a year ago to 70,320, partly because of the plasticizer scare and a derailment on the Alishan railway. The figure is expected to pick up this month, after Taiwan opened up its borders to free independent tourists from China.

  Security concerns have been raised over the opening to individual tourists, who are free to travel anywhere in the country — with the exception of military bases, some national security locations and sensitive research labs. Sixteen Chinese were found at a military base in Hualien on May 29, taking pictures and watching a military drill.

  Thursday’s incident had lawmakers debating Ma’s decision to approach the crowd of Chinese tourists, who did not go through a security check and were holding up digital cameras within inches of the president’s face.

  Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Huang Wei-cher (黃偉哲) said Ma and his entourage should enforce different security measures when facing Chinese tourists and Taiwanese, especially as the president’s public engagements are expected to pick up in the run-up to the elections.

  “Ma’s decision to walk toward the Chinese tourists shows that the president hasn’t fully grasped these security risks,” Huang said. “His bodyguards also need to set stricter standards in dealing with people who purposefully reach out and grab [the president’s] neck.”

  Taiwan places strict limits on what types of tourists from China are allowed into the country. Individual tourists must show proof of financial capability, find a guarantor and purchase at least NT$2 million (US$69,500) in travel insurance before their applications are screened by Chinese and Taiwanese authorities.

  Critics, however, have said that these are not enough to deter potential Chinese spies, who could slip unnoticed into the country for unsupervised travel.

  National Security Bureau Director Tsai Der-sheng (蔡得勝) conceded at a legislative hearing in April that the bureau did not have enough manpower and financial resources to manage the expected influx of individual Chinese tourists. He also admitted that there had been cases of Chinese spies posing as tourists.

  Seeking to deflect criticism from the president, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers said it was impossible for a democratically elected head-of-state to completely shield himself from the public, or in this case, Chinese tourists in general.

  “We hope that society can remain reasonable, politicians can refrain from inciting hatred and that security personnel can work hard,” KMT Legislator Lin Yu-fang (林郁方) said. “Otherwise political leaders can only pray to God that nothing unfortunate happens.”

  Thursday’s incident had lawmakers debating Ma’s decision to approach the crowd of Chinese tourists, who did not go through a security check and were holding up digital cameras within inches of the president’s face.

  Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Huang Wei-cher (黃偉哲) said Ma and his entourage should enforce different security measures when facing Chinese tourists and Taiwanese, especially as the president’s public engagements are expected to pick up in the run-up to the elections.

  “Ma’s decision to walk toward the Chinese tourists shows that the president hasn’t fully grasped these security risks,” Huang said. “His bodyguards also need to set stricter standards in dealing with people who purposefully reach out and grab [the president’s] neck.”

  Taiwan places strict limits on what types of tourists from China are allowed into the country. Individual tourists must show proof of financial resources, find a guarantor and purchase at least NT$2 million (US$69,500) in travel insurance before their applications are screened by Chinese and Taiwanese authorities.

  Critics, however, have said that these are not enough to deter potential Chinese spies, who could slip unnoticed into the country for unsupervised travel.

  National Security Bureau Director Tsai Der-sheng (蔡得勝) conceded at a legislative hearing in April that the bureau did not have enough manpower and financial resources to manage the expected influx of individual Chinese tourists. He also admitted that there had been cases of Chinese spies posing as tourists.

  Seeking to deflect criticism from the president, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers said it was impossible for a democratically elected head-of-state to completely shield himself from the public, or in this case, Chinese tourists in general.

  “We hope that society can remain reasonable, politicians can refrain from inciting hatred and that security personnel can work hard,” KMT Legislator Lin Yu-fang (林郁方) said. “Otherwise political leaders can only pray to God that nothing unfortunate happens.”
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