The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday confirmed the detention of a Taiwanese in Hong Kong, a member of a delegation "led by" opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislative caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅崐萁) to the territory last month.
The detained person, a travel industry operator from Hualien County, was a member of a delegation organized by the county government — with Fu and Hualien County County Commissioner Hsu Chen-wei (徐榛蔚) in attendance — to attend a travel expo in Hong Kong last month, the MAC said.
The individual was arrested upon arriving in Hong Kong and remained in detention as of yesterday, the MAC added.
Photo courtesy of Legislator Fu Kun-chi's office via CNA
The case involves money laundering allegations and no national security-related accusations have been made, MAC Minister Chiu Chiu-cheng (邱垂正) said today, as he called for the Hong Kong government to provide more information on the case.
The council said that after receiving a report of the arrest, its Office of Hong Kong Affairs in the territory immediately provided necessary assistance to the person.
The detention first came to light when Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) revealed it during an interview on an online show that aired early yesterday, during which he said the delegation was "led by" Fu.
Chinese-language Mirror Media reported the same day that the detained person, a woman surnamed Chen (陳), is accused of involvement in a money laundering case in Hong Kong 25 years ago.
Last night, Fu wrote in a Facebook post that he "had never known" the detained person, who he said is a senior staff member at the Shin Kong Chao Feng Resort Ranch.
"As for the case that occurred in Hong Kong 25 years ago, no one knows the details," Fu said, adding that the case is "entirely unrelated" to the person’s current work in the tourism industry in Hualien County.
The Hualien County Government was invited to form a delegation to attend the travel expo held on Feb. 20 in Hong Kong, and local tourism operators in Hualien could join at their own expense, Fu said .
"Fu Kun-chi was neither a member of the delegation nor its leader," Fu said, adding that he traveled to Hong Kong and attended the event at his own expense "to help promote Hualien tourism."
The case involving the detained individual is being handled by the West Kowloon Court, with a first hearing held on Sunday and a bail hearing scheduled for tomorrow, the Chinese-language United Daily News quoted Hualien County Councilor Fu Kuo-yuan (傅國淵) as saying.
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