The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday condemned China for its refusal to issue visas to two Taiwanese journalists who had planned to cover Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Wang Yu-chi’s (王郁琦) visit to China.
The reporters from the Chinese-language Apple Daily and Radio Free Asia were among the 89 local journalists who had applied for visas to cover Wang’s four-day trip and the unprecedented meeting between the council and the Taiwan Affairs Office that begins today in Nanjing.
The federation said the pair were banned from entering China without any explanation from Beijing.
“The IFJ joins its affiliate the Association of Taiwan Journalists [ATJ] in condemning China’s refusal to issue visas to two Taiwanese journalists set to travel to China this week,” the federation said in a press release.
IFJ Asia-Pacific director Jacqui Park said the Chinese government’s refusal to issue the visas was indicative of an ongoing trend.
“The Chinese government is clearly using their ability to retract or refuse visas to journalists as an instrument of censorship,” Park said.
“Recently we have witnessed high-profile cases in which foreign journalists such as the New York Times’ Austin Ramzy and the South China Morning Post’s Paul Mooney were forced to leave the country after having visa renewals declined. This is the first case we have come across where Taiwanese journalists have been targeted,” she said.
Mooney was denied a new press card and visa after he left the South China Morning Post and went to work for Reuters last year.
The Association of Taiwan Journalists demanded that Wang lodge a protest to China and urged the council to take action to defend the freedom of the press.
The council on Sunday night said that it deeply regretted the unfortunate development and called on the Chinese to respect the freedom of the press.
The DPP demanded that Wang protest the denial of visas and make sure all the reporters who signed up for his trip could cover his visit.
“If some Taiwanese reporters are not allowed to visit China, what is the point of Taiwan engaging in negotiations with China about an agreement that will allow news institutions from both sides to set up offices in each other’s territories?” DPP spokesperson Lin Chun-hsien (林俊憲) told a press conference.
The council’s expression of “deep regret” was weak against Beijing’s blatant suppression of the freedom of the press, as well as a violation of international covenants, Lin said.
The visa denials highlighted the significance of the signing of a cross-strait agreement on press freedom protection, DPP Department of China Affairs director Honigmann Hong (洪財隆) said.
The council said yesterday that Wang would “discuss issues related to equal exchanges of news information” when he meets with Taiwan Affairs Office Director Zhang Zhijun (張志軍) during his trip.
“Press freedom is a universal value. We have repeatedly said that the most important thing regarding news exchange between the two sides is the free and equal flow of information,” the council said in a statement.
In related news, the Chinese-language United Daily News yesterday reported that Beijing has demanded that a memorandum be signed by Wang and Zhang after they meet to serve as “a foundation of future meetings,” citing an unnamed Chinese official.
Council spokeswoman Wu Mei-hung (吳美紅) denied the report, reiterating that Wang “would not sign any document during his visit.”
A TAO spokesperson in Beijing said the office had no comment on the newspaper report.
Additional reporting by staff writer and AFP
Tainan City Councilor Lu Kun-fu (盧崑福) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday sparked further controversy when he echoed remarks by KMT caucus whip Alex Fai (費鴻泰) that Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) should be executed for an increase in domestic COVID-19 cases. Chen heads the Central Epidemic Command Center. Lu at a question-and-answer session at the Tainan City Council said that a lapse in disease prevention measures at China Airlines, which has led to a cluster infection, could have been controlled. However, as the airline’s pilots were allowed a shortened quarantine period of three days and were placed
DATA-DRIVEN: The dedicated department used big data to find sexual harassment hot spots on the Mass Rapid Transit system to take measures against perpetrators Most incidents of sexual harassment and secret photography in Taipei’s MRT metropolitan railway system over the past five years occurred at three stations, the Rapid Transit Division of the Taipei City Police Department said in a statement yesterday. Most incidents were recorded at Zhongxiao-Fuxing MRT Station, followed by Taipei Main and Zhongxiao-Dunhua MRT stations, the department said, adding that the results were obtained through big data analysis. The system, which serves Taipei and New Taipei City, handles about 2.2 million passengers per day, and most cases of secret photography and sexual harassment — usually involving touching a victims buttocks or chest
‘STAY CALM’: The nation has more than 800 million masks in stock and can produce up to 40 million a day, while hand sanitizer stocks are also sufficient The nation has an ample supply of masks to meet demand amid concerns over an increase in the number of domestically transmitted COVID-19 cases, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said on Tuesday. Taiwan has more than 800 million masks in stock, with daily production of 18.3 million units on average and maximum daily capacity of 40 million units, the ministry said on Facebook. The ministry’s assurance came after Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC), on Monday said that the nation has entered the community transmission stage after several new domestic
EYES AND EARS: The navy has commissioned the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology to manufacture radars to upgrade the nation’s naval monitoring stations A military enthusiast yesterday posted photographs of Taiwanese F-16 jets taking off from Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Honolulu with two refueling aircraft, presumably returning to Taiwan from the US for upgrades. Asked about the matter, the Ministry of National Defense declined to comment. The jets had been part of training at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona and had briefly landed in Honolulu, where the photographer, Aeros808, had spotted them, a source said. The jets did not land in Guam, which had been done in 1996 when the US Air Force delivered F-16s to Taiwan, the source said, adding that the
RSS