The head of Hong Kong’s Taiwan exchange organization has arrived in Taiwan on personal business, although his expected visit to the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has stoked speculation of a coming thaw in Taiwan-Hong Kong relations.
The MAC yesterday confirmed that Hong Kong-Taiwan Economic and Cultural Cooperation and Promotion Council (ECCPC) Chairman David Lie (李大壯) and his wife arrived in Taiwan on Tuesday to visit her parents.
It did not confirm reports that he plans to visit the council, but said it “welcomes Chairman Lie if he intends to visit.”
The ECCPC was founded in 2010 to represent the Hong Kong government in dealings with Taiwan, represented through its reciprocal organization, the Taiwan-Hong Kong Economic and Cultural Cooperation Council.
However, exchanges between the entities have stalled since Taiwan-Hong Kong relations began to sour during the territory’s anti-extradition protests in 2019.
Lie’s visit has therefore raised some eyebrows despite its unofficial nature, stoking speculation that a visit to the MAC might serve as an icebreaker to restarting exchanges.
The timing of Lie’s trip has also been the subject of speculation, as it comes days after former security chief John Lee (李家超) was on Sunday elected Hong Kong’s new chief executive in an uncontested vote.
Although a proxy organization, the ECCPC has counted many government officials among its leadership, starting with the appointment of then-Hong Kong financial secretary John Tsang (曾俊華) as honorary chairman at its founding in 2010.
The Hong Kong Economic, Trade and Cultural Office was established in Taipei shortly afterward at the end of 2011 to handle governmental exchanges.
Months before, in July 2011, Taiwan’s office in the territory was renamed from the Chung Hwa Travel Service to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Hong Kong.
However, regular exchanges between the entities halted as relations began to sour in 2018.
Tensions worsened when the 2019 protests began, as the territory stopped issuing visas to Taiwan’s representatives.
By last year, both governmental offices had ceased operations.
In announcing the “temporary” closure of its representative office in Taiwan, Hong Kong officials cited its “gross interference” in Hong Kong affairs over its support of protesters, causing “irretrievable damage” to bilateral relations.
Lie has previously said that the closure was unsurprising to those involved, as the current state of Taiwan-Hong Kong relations had diverged far from the seven-point principle set out by former Chinese minister of foreign affairs Qian Qichen (錢其琛) in 1995 to handle Taiwan-Hong Kong relations after the territory’s handover in 1997.
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