The government would assess the possibility of blacklisting Hong Kong triads and Hong Kong Police officers that have persecuted pro-democracy advocates, and banning them from entering the nation, Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Deputy Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday.
Chiu made the statement at a news conference after Hong Kong Higher Institutions International Affairs delegation spokesperson Sunny Cheung (張崑陽) said in an article published on Wednesday on Stand News, a Hong Kong-based pro-democracy online news site, that the council was creating a blacklist.
“The nation has already stipulated rules to regulate the arrival and departure of foreigners. Apart from improving the existing mechanism, we would also consider petitions from Hong Kong pro-democracy advocates,” Chiu said. “It has been the government’s position to support democratic development in Hong Kong.”
Photo: CNA
“We have on multiple occasions urged the Chinese Communist Party and the Hong Kong government to listen to the voice of the people in Hong Kong and respond positively to their petitions so that Hong Kong society can quickly return to normal,” he added.
Chiu was also asked about the case of Hong Konger Chan Tong-kai (陳同佳), who is suspected of killing his pregnant girlfriend, Poon Hiu-wing (潘曉穎), during a visit to Taiwan in February 2018 before returning to the territory.
He reportedly said last year that he would be willing to turn himself in to Taiwanese authorities.
Chiu said that the key is whether the Hong Kong government feels a responsibility to hand the suspect over and whether Chan truly wanted to face punishment under Taiwan’s judicial system.
Poon was killed in Taiwan, so her family members, as victims of a crime, are entitled to apply for compensation within two years of when the crime was committed, but the application deadline is next month, Chiu said.
The government has thus far not received a request for compensation from Poon’s family, a source within the government said.
Asked about a civic group’s plans to hold a demonstration on Sunday to protest the government’s failure to assist Hong Kongers seeking asylum in Taiwan, Chiu said that the Act Governing Relations with Hong Kong and Macau (香港澳門關係條例) serves as the legal basis for the government’s humanitarian assistance to Hong Kongers.
“We are willing to explain to civic groups that might not be familiar with the law,” he said.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
RSS