A group of Chinese students from Macau who took a photograph with the People's Republic of China flag violated purposes stated for tourism entry, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said today.
The students have been warned by relevant authorities and any future applications to visit Taiwan would be carefully reviewed, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said in a radio interview.
The council is aware of their identities, Chiu said, adding that they are mainland Chinese students currently studying in Macau.
Photo: Liao Chen-hui, Taipei Times
Tourists from all over the world are welcome to visit Taiwan and attend events, but incidents like this should not happen, Chiu added.
The authorities have made a note of the incident as well, he added.
Chiu also spoke on recent cases of people from China attempting to enter Taiwan by boat.
The situation calls for special attention, Chiu said.
There are various reasons why people may try to enter illegally, such as spying on Taiwan’s defenses, looking for human trafficking loopholes or even influencers seeking viral fame, he said.
Those seeking freedom cannot be ruled out, although the number is decreasing, Chiu said.
Asked whether these people were sent by the Chinese Communist Party, Chiu said he “could not rule that out.”
The relevant authorities would look into each case individually, he said, adding that coming to Taiwan by dinghy is illegal and would definitely face legal consequences.
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday said it had deployed patrol vessels to expel a China Coast Guard ship and a Chinese fishing boat near Pratas Island (Dongsha Island, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. The China Coast Guard vessel was 28 nautical miles (52km) northeast of Pratas at 6:15am on Thursday, approaching the island’s restricted waters, which extend 24 nautical miles from its shoreline, the CGA’s Dongsha-Nansha Branch said in a statement. The Tainan, a 2,000-tonne cutter, was deployed by the CGA to shadow the Chinese ship, which left the area at 2:39pm on Friday, the statement said. At 6:31pm on Friday,
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, would pose a steep challenge to Taiwan’s ability to defend itself against a full-scale invasion, a defense expert said yesterday. Institute of National Defense and Security Research analyst Chieh Chung (揭仲) made the comment hours after the PLAN confirmed the carrier recently passed through the Taiwan Strait to conduct “scientific research tests and training missions” in the South China Sea. China has two carriers in operation — the Liaoning and the Shandong — with the Fujian undergoing sea trials. Although the PLAN needs time to train the Fujian’s air wing and
Taiwanese celebrities Hank Chen (陳漢典) and Lulu Huang (黃路梓茵) announced yesterday that they are planning to marry. Huang announced and posted photos of their engagement to her social media pages yesterday morning, joking that the pair were not just doing marketing for a new show, but “really getting married.” “We’ve decided to spend all of our future happy and hilarious moments together,” she wrote. The announcement, which was later confirmed by the talent agency they share, appeared to come as a surprise even to those around them, with veteran TV host Jacky Wu (吳宗憲) saying he was “totally taken aback” by the news. Huang,
The American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) put Taiwan in danger, Ma Ying-jeou Foundation director Hsiao Hsu-tsen (蕭旭岑) said yesterday, hours after the de facto US embassy said that Beijing had misinterpreted World War II-era documents to isolate Taiwan. The AIT’s comments harmed the Republic of China’s (ROC) national interests and contradicted a part of the “six assurances” stipulating that the US would not change its official position on Taiwan’s sovereignty, Hsiao said. The “six assurances,” which were given by then-US president Ronald Reagan to Taiwan in 1982, say that Washington would not set a date for ending arm sales to Taiwan, consult
RSS