Simon Cheng (鄭文傑), a Hong Konger who was detained by China in August while employed by the British consulate in Hong Kong, on Saturday said that he had been followed by an “unknown person” while visiting Taiwan.
Cheng, who was in Taiwan from Aug. 30 to Nov. 29, on Saturday told the Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) that someone had begun following him after he told foreign media in Taipei about how he was tortured during his 15 days in detention in China.
The experience made him worry about his safety, but he remained confident in the Taiwanese government’s abilities, he said.
Screen grab from Simon Cheng’s Facebook account
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the British Office Taipei had warned it that he would be interviewed in the city.
While at Eslite Bookstore in Taipei’s Xinyi District (信義) Cheng noticed he was being followed by a middle-aged man who he had seen a few hours earlier at the nearby Xiangti Avenue Plaza, he said, adding that the man had changed his clothing.
While in the bookstore, the man — whose identity and intentions he was unsure of — was watching him while pretending to read, Cheng said.
He said that after being notified about the issue, the government arranged for bodyguards to stay with him.
Police said initial investigations found that the man was not Taiwanese and did not appear to be associated with any local pro-China group.
In interviews with the BBC and the Washington Post published on Nov. 20, Cheng said that he had been tortured by Chinese police to extort a confession.
“They wanted to know what role the UK had in the Hong Kong protests — they asked what support, money and equipment we were giving to the protesters,” he told the BBC.
Chinese police told him during his interrogation that many Hong Kong protesters who had been arrested were sent to China where they were being detained, Cheng told the Liberty Times.
British Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Dominic Raab had summoned Chinese Ambassador to Britain Liu Xiaoming (劉曉明) over Cheng’s arrest and torture.
Liu has said the Hong Kong protests have “nothing to do with democracy,” and that Beijing never asked Hong Kong to change its laws.
Cheng said that the British government has canceled his contract out of concerns for his safety, as the job requires frequent travel to China.
There was also concern that his enthusiasm for discussing the Hong Kong’s government’s policies and the territory’s ongoing democracy movement were in conflict with the principle of neutrality that public officials normally adhere to, he said.
The UK government gave him a two-year working holiday visa, but he is in talks to secure permanent residence or citizenship, Cheng said, adding that he is also looking for a job with the UK parliament or a think tank.
He also plans to visit the US and countries in Europe to secure support in the defense of Hong Kong’s freedom and Taiwan’s democracy, he said.
Cheng said he feels safer in the UK than he did in Taiwan, but that he also loves Taiwan because he graduated from National Taiwan University, which changed the course of his life.
He plans to visit Taiwan often, he added.
The first global hotel Keys Selection by the Michelin Guide includes four hotels in Taiwan, Michelin announced yesterday. All four received the “Michelin One Key,” indicating guests are to experience a “very special stay” at any of the locations as the establishments are “a true gem with personality. Service always goes the extra mile, and the hotel provides much more than others in its price range.” Of the four hotels, three are located in Taipei and one in Taichung. In Taipei, the One Key accolades were awarded to the Capella Taipei, Kimpton Da An Taipei and Mandarin Oriental Taipei. Capella Taipei was described by
EVA Airways today confirmed the death of a flight attendant on Saturday upon their return to Taiwan and said an internal investigation has been launched, as criticism mounted over a social media post accusing the airline of failing to offer sufficient employee protections. According to the post, the flight attendant complained of feeling sick on board a flight, but was unable to take sick leave or access medical care. The crew member allegedly did not receive assistance from the chief purser, who failed to heed their requests for medical attention or call an ambulance once the flight landed, the post said. As sick
Minister of Economic Affairs Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) yesterday said that private-sector refiners are willing to stop buying Russian naphtha should the EU ask them to, after a group of non-governmental organizations, including the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), criticized the nation’s continued business with the country. While Taiwan joined the US and its Western allies in putting broad sanctions on Russia after it invaded Ukraine in 2022, it did not explicitly ban imports of naphtha, a major hard-currency earner for Russia. While state-owned firms stopped importing Russian oil in 2023, there is no restriction on private companies to
INDUSTRY: Beijing’s latest export measures go beyond targeting the US and would likely affect any country that uses Chinese rare earths or related tech, an academic said Taiwanese industries could face significant disruption from China’s newly tightened export controls on rare earth elements, as much of Taiwan’s supply indirectly depends on Chinese materials processed in Japan, a local expert said yesterday. Kristy Hsu (徐遵慈), director of the Taiwan ASEAN Studies Center at the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research, said that China’s latest export measures go far beyond targeting the US and would likely affect any country that uses Chinese rare earths or related technologies. With Japan and Southeast Asian countries among those expected to be hit, Taiwan could feel the impact through its reliance on Japanese-made semi-finished products and
RSS