Overseas Community Affairs Council (OCAC) representatives may be unable to attend a board meeting of the 33rd Asia Taiwanese Chambers of Commerce in Singapore next month due to visa issues suspected to be caused by pressure from Beijing, council Minister Hsu Chia-ching (徐佳青) said today.
The OCAC has been in contact with the Taipei Representative Office in the Republic of Singapore, but the response is not looking optimistic, she told lawmakers during a legislative committee meeting.
Hsu said it looks unlikely she and other officials would be granted a visa to attend the chambers’ second board meeting from Dec. 9 to 11.
Photo: Reuters
Singapore is concerned that the council’s visit would affect its overseas Taiwanese community and therefore may refuse to grant visas to any OCAC officials, Hsu said.
Although Singapore has visa-free entry for Taiwanese, government officials require authorization to travel.
Last year when the meeting was held in Vietnam, Hanoi refused to issue visas to Taiwanese lawmakers and officials, leaving Hsu and Deputy Legislative Speaker Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) unable to attend, she said.
Meanwhile, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Michelle Lin (林楚茵) said that Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (黃循財) reaffirmed his opposition to “Taiwanese independence” when he met with Chinese Premier Li Qiang (李強) on Oct. 25.
She suggested that the council monitor China’s “long-arm jurisdiction,” saying that Singapore has an extradition agreement with Hong Kong.
Hsu said that the OCAC continues to monitor international developments and has advised Taiwanese to exercise caution when transiting through or traveling to certain countries.
Singapore is not currently included on the travel alert list, but may be added in the future for those sanctioned by China, such as DPP Legislator Puma Shen (沈伯洋), who may face risks when traveling to Singapore, she added.
Upon further questioning, Hsu clarified that the possibility of Singapore being added to an alert list is her personal opinion and does not represent the position of the national security team.
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