The government’s entry ban on a Japanese man who has voiced support for Taiwanese independence is a violation of freedom of speech and ironic given the number of Chinese officials advocating unification who are allowed to visit, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers said yesterday.
Kenji Tanabe, 38, was refused entry and deported in September 2010, four months after he raised a banner in support of Taiwanese independence on the peak of Yushan during an earlier visit, DPP Legislator Mark Chen (陳唐山) told a news conference in Taipei.
“The ban is inexplicable, because the freedom of speech for foreigners should also be protected, let alone considering that Tanabe expressed his views only because he loves Taiwan,” Chen said.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
Tanabe has been barred from entering the country for five years for “jeopardizing public safety, social order and national interests by his public advocacy of Taiwanese independence,” according to the National Immigration Agency (NIA), which said he had engaged in political activities as a tourist.
The Ministry of the Interior’s Petition and Appeal Committee rejected Tanabe’s appeal on Aug. 16, Chen said.
Chen, who served as foreign minister during the former DPP administration, said Taiwanese independence is now receiving widespread support and the immigration agency will have to explain why supporting mainstream public opinion jeopardizes Taiwan’s national interests.
DPP lawmakers said Tanabe’s case was a reminder of the White Terror era and the former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) authoritarian regime, when the government considered foreigners’ entry applications on the basis of their political ideology.
Lu Chun-hui (呂俊輝), who represented Tanabe in his appeal of the deportation in 2010, said Tanabe was not informed at the time why he was being deported, and he did not regret raising the banner.
Political views in favor of independence or unification should both be accepted if Taiwan is to be a full and a true democracy, DPP Legislator Huang Wei-cher (黃偉哲) said.
However, President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) refused to meet Chinese human rights activist Chen Guangcheng (陳光誠) when he visited earlier this year and refused to grant a visa to Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, while Chinese officials who support annexing Taiwan by force if necessary are allowed to visit, Huang said.
NIA Deputy Director Ho Jung-tsun (何榮村) said Tanabe should have only done what a tourist is supposed to do under the Immigration Act (移民法) — sightsee and visit friends or relatives — and he was deported for engaging in extra activities.
“It was that simple,” Ho said.
He said visits of Chinese officials were governed by the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), not the Immigration Act.
Chinese officials are required to submit their itineraries before they visit and would be monitored by the Mainland Affairs Council, Ho said.
However, the agency could also deport Chinese officials if they engaged in “extra activities,” he said,
PROCEDURE: Although there is already a cross-strait agreement in place for the extradition of criminals, ample notice is meant to be given to the other side first Ten Taiwanese who were involved in fraud-related crimes in China were extradited back to Taiwan via Kinmen County on Wednesday, four of whom are convicted fraudsters in Taiwan. The 10 people arrived via a ferry operating between Xiamen and Kinmen, also known as the “small three links.” The Kinmen County Prosecutors’ Office yesterday said that four of the 10 extradited people were convicted in Taiwan for committing fraud and contravening the Money Laundering Control Act (洗錢防制法), and were on the wanted list. They were immediately arrested upon arrival and sent to Kinmen Prison to serve their sentences following brief questioning, the office said.
‘REGRETTABLE’: Travelers reported that Seoul’s online arrival card system lists Taiwan as ‘China (Taiwan),’ the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday urged South Korea to correct the way Taiwan is listed in its newly launched e-Arrival card system, saying the current designation downgrades the nation’s status. South Korea rolled out the online system on Feb. 24 to gradually replace paper arrival cards, which it plans to phase out by next year. Travelers must complete the electronic form up to 72 hours before entering the country. The ministry said it has received multiple complaints from Taiwanese travelers saying that the system lists Taiwan as “China (Taiwan)” in dropdown menus for both “place of departure” and “next
A small number of Taiwanese this year lost their citizenship rights after traveling in China and obtaining a one-time Chinese passport to cross the border into Russia, a source said today. The people signed up through Chinese travel agencies for tours of neighboring Russia with companies claiming they could obtain Russian visas and fast-track border clearance, the source said on condition of anonymity. The travelers were actually issued one-time-use Chinese passports, they said. Taiwanese are prohibited from holding a Chinese passport or household registration. If found to have a Chinese ID, they may lose their resident status under Article 9-1
VIGILANT: Enterovirus activity remains in the epidemic phase, with the CDC urging caregivers of infected children to be on the lookout for signs of severe illness Influenza activity is rising in neighboring countries, and, with temperatures forecast to drop this week, flu cases are expected to increase in the next two weeks, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. Hospitals reported 87,162 visits for flu-like illnesses between Nov. 23 and Saturday, which remained about the same level as the previous week, but nine deaths and 24 cases with serious flu complications were also confirmed last week, CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) said. Flu activity reached a peak in late September before declining for eight consecutive weeks, CDC Deputy Director-General and spokesman Lin Min-cheng (林明誠)
RSS