The Hong Kong government on Tuesday said that Taiwan had rejected the visas of two of its officials, underscoring rising bilateral tensions after Taipei criticized national security legislation imposed on the territory by Beijing.
The two staff members of the Taipei-based Hong Kong Economic, Trade and Cultural Office (HKETCO) have returned home after their residence permits were rejected, Hong Kong’s Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau said.
It declined to specify whether the visas were existing ones or documents relating to new applications.
Taiwan needed to react accordingly, to “defend the nation’s dignity” based on equal and bilateral considerations, following “unreasonable limitations” set by the Hong Kong authorities, the Mainland Affairs Council in Taipei said, declining to confirm the visa rejections.
Acting Representative to Hong Kong Kao Ming-tsun (高銘村), head of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office, returned to Taiwan on Thursday last week after refusing to sign a document supporting Beijing’s claim to the nation under its “one China” policy as a condition for his visa renewal.
A senior Taiwanese official on Friday said that Taiwanese officials in Hong Kong had been told their visas would not be renewed unless they signed the document.
The national security legislation for Hong Kong, which took effect last month, punishes what China broadly defines as subversion or collusion with foreign forces with up to life in prison.
According to Hong Kong media, HKETCO had 13 staff positions in Taiwan. It was unclear which two staff had left.
The bureau said that its work to promote economic and cultural exchanges between Hong Kong and Taiwan was ongoing and had not been “seriously affected at the moment” by the visa rejections.
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