A Taiwanese traveler whose name sounds similar to former Taiwan Statebuilding Party (TSP) legislator Chen Po-wei (陳柏惟) was reportedly held and questioned when entering Hong Kong.
The man in a post on Threads on Friday said he said he was traveling from Macau to Hong Kong to go to Disneyland in May when his “Taiwan compatriot card” was withheld for more than 30 minutes and he was brought to a small room for questioning.
He suspected that it was because his name when written in pinyin is spelled the same as the independence-supporting former legislator and he was born in the same year.
Photo: AP
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Wang Ting-yu (王定宇) on Saturday reiterated the story to reporters, saying it does not matter whether traveling through China, Hong Kong or Macau, they all pose a danger.
“If China says you broke the law, you broke the law,” he said.
The comments come after Beijing announced new legal guidelines aimed at punishing “Taiwanese independence diehards” with penalties as severe as execution.
Taipei on Thursday last week raised its travel advisory for China, Hong Kong and Macau to “orange,” suggesting against nonessential travel.
Also from today, the Chinese Ministry of State Security said it is to expand the authority of the border patrol to investigate phones, laptops and other electronic devices, including e-mail and other personal information.
Additional reporting by Chen Cheng-yu
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