Hong Kong entertainment tycoon Charles Heung’s (向華強) application for Taiwanese residency is likely to founder due to his ties to Beijing, a source connected to the national security establishment said.
Heung is chairman of China Star Entertainment (中國星). The former actor is perhaps best known for playing a supporting role in the 1989 film God of Gamblers.
Heung filed the residency application on the grounds that his wife, Tiffany Chan (陳嵐), is Taiwanese, and his family have been lobbying lawmakers to facilitate his immigration bid, said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Photo: Chang Chung-yi, Taipei Times
However, national security officials believe that Heung is a potential security risk, the source said.
As a pro-Beijing celebrity in good standing with the Chinese Communist Party and a fortune in the billions, Heung has no reason to leave Hong Kong, the source said.
When China’s National People’s Congress promulgated the National Security Law in Hong Kong, Heung was one of 3,000 celebrities to sign a public statement supporting the controversial legislation, the source said.
Heung’s family has deep ties to Hong Kong’s largest criminal organization, the Sun Yee On, the source said.
Another issue is that Heung’s son Jackie Heung (向佐) is a known member of the National Committee of the All-China Youth Federation, an organ bearing a strong connection to the Chinese Communist Youth League, they said.
Writing on social media during anti-extradition bill protests in Hong Kong last year, Chan called for the security apparatus to ban masks, accusing the protesters of “acting like animals and demons under the cover of masks,” the source said.
Being eligible for residency does not mean the application will be granted, the source said, adding that the evaluation process protects national security and the interests of Taiwanese.
Economic Democracy Union convener Lai Chung-chiang (賴中強) yesterday said that the government should approach the issue of Hong Kong immigrants from the perspective of defending Taiwan’s democratic way of life.
“A powerful player of Hong Kong’s entertainment world could import China’s political censorship if they are allowed to develop their career in Taiwan,” Lai said. “This has the potential to transform Taiwan’s entertainment industry in a worrisome direction.”
A spokesperson for the Taiwan-based Hong Kong Outlanders, who uses the pseudonym Justine, said that Taipei should reject the residency applications of Hong Kongers who support Beijing, or have an institutional affiliation to the Chinese government or military organizations.
“Such measures are necessary to protect the safety of Taiwanese and Hong Kongers living in Taiwan,” Justine said.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Fan Yun (范雲) said that Taiwan must look to its national security as the nation extends its friendship to Hong Kong.
“When Hong Kongers seek immigration to Taiwan, whether it is on grounds of family or as an investor, the government should look at their record, examine their potential ties to organized crime and be mindful of the national security angle,” Fan said.
UPDATED (3:40pm): A suspected gas explosion at a shopping mall in Taichung this morning has killed four people and injured 20 others, as emergency responders continue to investigate. The explosion occurred on the 12th floor of the Shin Kong Mitsukoshi in Situn District (西屯) at 11:33am. One person was declared dead at the scene, while three people were declared deceased later after receiving emergency treatment. Another 20 people sustained major or minor injuries. The Taichung Fire Bureau said it received a report of the explosion at 11:33am and sent rescuers to respond. The cause of the explosion is still under investigation, it said. The National Fire
ACCOUNTABILITY: The incident, which occured at a Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Department Store in Taichung, was allegedly caused by a gas explosion on the 12th floor Shin Kong Group (新光集團) president Richard Wu (吳昕陽) yesterday said the company would take responsibility for an apparent gas explosion that resulted in four deaths and 26 injuries at Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Zhonggang Store in Taichung yesterday. The Taichung Fire Bureau at 11:33am yesterday received a report saying that people were injured after an explosion at the department store on Section 3 of Taiwan Boulevard in Taichung’s Situn District (西屯). It sent 56 ambulances and 136 paramedics to the site, with the people injured sent to Cheng Ching Hospital’s Chung Kang Branch, Wuri Lin Shin Hospital, Taichung Veterans General Hospital or Chung
ALL-IN-ONE: A company in Tainan and another in New Taipei City offer tours to China during which Taiwanese can apply for a Chinese ID card, the source said The National Immigration Agency and national security authorities have identified at least five companies that help Taiwanese apply for Chinese identification cards while traveling in China, a source said yesterday. The issue has garnered attention in the past few months after YouTuber “Pa Chiung” (八炯) said that there are companies in Taiwan that help Taiwanese apply for Chinese documents. Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) last week said that three to five public relations firms in southern and northern Taiwan have allegedly assisted Taiwanese in applying for Chinese ID cards and were under investigation for potential contraventions of the Act Governing
‘LAWFUL USE’: The last time a US warship transited the Taiwan Strait was on Oct. 20 last year, and this week’s transit is the first of US President Donald Trump’s second term Two US military vessels transited the Taiwan Strait from Sunday through early yesterday, the Ministry of National Defense said in a statement, the first such mission since US President Donald Trump took office last month. The two vessels sailed south through the Strait, the ministry said, adding that it closely monitored nearby airspace and waters at the time and observed nothing unusual. The ministry did not name the two vessels, but the US Navy identified them as the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Ralph Johnson and the Pathfinder-class survey ship USNS Bowditch. The ships carried out a north-to-south transit from