Former China Central Television (CCTV) investigative reporter Wang Zhian (王志安) should submit evidence proving that he can assist the government in countering Chinese cognitive warfare against Taiwan if he seeks to re-enter the country through the endorsement of the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC), the cross-strait authority said yesterday.
The Ministry of the Interior banned Wang from entering Taiwan for five years after he breached the terms of his tourism permit by going on the Night Night Show with Hello (賀瓏夜夜秀) and ridiculing the disability of Democratic Progressive Party legislator-at-large candidate Chen Chun-han (陳俊翰).
He subsequently appealed the ministry’s ruling by filing a lawsuit at the Taipei High Administrative Court, which in June ruled in favor of the ministry.
Photo: Chen Yu-fu, Taipei Times
The ministry confirmed that it has lifted the entry ban for some Internet influencers, after the MAC said they would be useful in producing content to counter Chinese propaganda.
Wang on Wednesday said he should be allowed to re-enter Taiwan, too, as the skills he acquired while working as an investigative reporter make him a valuable asset that Taiwan cannot cultivate in the short term, adding that he could make irreplaceable contributions to Taiwanese society.
Wang, who lives in Japan, also accused the government of double standards against him and Chinese spouses married to Taiwanese.
Asked if the council would endorse Wang, MAC Deputy Minister and spokesperson Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said: “To us, because he holds a Chinese passport, his case falls under the jurisdiction of the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area [臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例]. If he is a cat, he cannot call himself a dog.”
The entry of all Chinese is subject to the council’s approval, but this requirement does not apply to other foreigners, Liang added.
Liang suggested that Wang try submitting his entry permit application again and show the MAC how he has spoken for Taiwan and helped the nation counter China’s cognitive warfare.
All entry permit applications filed by Chinese nationals are jointly reviewed by the MAC and ministry, he added.
Chinese spouses who become elected officials in Taiwan are required to renounce their Chinese citizenship, because the Nationality Act (國籍法) stipulates that Taiwanese civil servants must not have dual citizenship, regardless of the “legitimacy” of the other citizenship, Liang said.
He cited as an example Northern Cyprus, which is only recognized as a legitimate country by Turkey.
If a Northern Cyprus citizen becomes an elected Taiwanese official, they have to renounce their Northern Cyprus citizenship as well, he said.
In other news, a Taiwanese who died while on a hiking trip in China’s Qinghai Province last week was working there, the council said, adding that their family had traveled to China yesterday to handle the funeral and other matters.
The China-based Taiwanese company the person worked for has taken care of the matter and has yet to request any assistance from the Taiwanese government, Liang said.
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