Chinese writer and democracy activist Yu Jie (余杰) yesterday accused the National Immigration Agency of deliberately setting hurdles for his application to visit Taiwan next month to launch a new book about the Sunflower movement, Hong Kong’s Umbrella revolution and democracy movements in China.
Yu, based in the US, disclosed his case in a post on Facebook.
He was invited by the Taipei Rhenish Church to attend a series of seminars launching the book, whose title can be translated as: From Docile Citizens to Citizens: Strolling along with Taiwan’s Democracy (從順民到公民:與台灣民主同行).
A member of the church who preferred not to be named said yesterday in a telephone interview that they had gone back and forth since Jan. 13 working to meet various agency requirements that are not in the rules for entry permit applications.
For example, after Yu had a Hong Kong publisher certify that he is a writer — since the agency required that he presented such a certification from China — the church was told that Yu’s US green card and that of his wife, Liu Min (劉敏), would be needed for the application, the church member said.
The agency also demanded that the church provide a detailed daily itinerary of Yu’s stay, even though application regulations require only a summary of his scheduled activities in each week or month, the source added.
The agency further required that Yu’s stay be shortened to one month from his proposed three, the church member said.
Saying that the documents presented for Yu’s entry permit were identical to those used last year for the same purpose by National Tsing Hua University, the source added that the agency was apparently picky with the church.
Last year, the agency accepted op-ed articles that Yu contributed to local media outlets as proof of his career as a professional writer, the source said.
“I can say that the agency just wanted to set hurdles by demanding certification from China. Can it be that they did not know I was forced to be a writer-in-exile by the Chinese Communist Party?” Yu wrote on Facebook.
In response, the agency said in a statement that the applications were not yet approved because the host did not submit required documents.
They included a letter of invitation, the church’s latest annual financial report, the daily itinerary, relevant proof or professional qualifications showing that Yu is specialized in the field of religion to meet the purpose of his visit in connection with religious activities, the agency said.
Yu and Liu have visited Taiwan for various purposes six times since 2006, it said.
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