Recently, it was rumored that Taiwan officials in Hong Kong were given a hard Time by the Hong Kong government for refusing to sign a letter of categorization on the one-China principle. The picture shows Hong Kong police arresting protesting youths.
In recent years, Taiwan-Hong Kong relations have not progressed, coupled with the 2019 Hong Kong anti-sending China campaign, the Hong Kong government has become increasingly difficult for Taiwan, the media disclosed that the Taiwan office in Hong Kong because of the refusal to sign the “one-China principle” cut-off letter, resulting in the original assignment of the Director Lu Changshui more than two years still can not take office, last year the Acting Director Gao Mingcun and four others also refused to sign the cut-off letter, the Hong Kong government Without renewing their visas, they were asked to leave the country and return to Taiwan by a deadline. At present, there are only 12 Taiwanese personnel left in Hong Kong, four of whom have expired or will expire soon. Some scholars are concerned that because of the rumors that Taiwan will assist five people who oppose sending China to the U.S., it may lead to the staff of the Hong Kong office remaining in Hong Kong to become hostages.
According to Apple Daily, cross-strait relations have been chilly in recent years, and relations between Hong Kong and Taiwan have deteriorated after the outbreak of the anti-sending-China protests in Hong Kong. The Land Commission announced in June 2018 that Counsellor Lu Changshui would take over as head of the Hong Kong office, but has been unable to take up the post due to the Hong Kong government’s delay in issuing visas.
Last year, four people, including Acting Director Gao Mingcun, were forced to return to Taiwan after the Hong Kong government refused to sign the “one-China principle” cut-off letter, making it difficult to renew their work visas and forcing them to leave the country by a deadline.
After that, the Land Commission could only assign Deputy Counselor of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Lin Zhen-zu as acting director to maintain the operation of the office. At present, the office has 12 Taiwanese staff and 50 Hong Kong employees.
According to the report, the current situation in Hong Kong has deteriorated, and the Hong Kong government has ignored Taiwan’s requests for visas and applications for stationed personnel, clearly delaying them on purpose.
The report also disclosed that Taiwan’s office in Hong Kong used to have a maximum of 20 Taiwanese staff, but since Lu Changshui could not take up the post of director so far, Taiwan has repeatedly applied for the posting of staff, but the Hong Kong government has ignored it.
In addition, as Taiwan has offered assistance to Hong Kong democrats, Wu Hiei-ren, an associate researcher at the Institute of Taiwan History of the Academia Sinica, warned that consideration should be given to the possibility of Taiwan’s staff being threatened by the Chinese Communist Party if more “sensitive” figures from Hong Kong come to Taiwan, fearing that Taiwan’s staff will become “hostages” on the other side.
The Land Commission said that Taiwan’s personnel in Hong Kong are handled in accordance with the rotation rules, and our personnel cannot be stationed in Hong Kong, mainly because Hong Kong has set up unnecessary obstacles outside the common norms between Taiwan and Hong Kong. We call on the Hong Kong government to think about the well-being of the people, return to the established basis of consensus between the two sides, and work together to maintain the healthy interaction between Taiwan and Hong Kong.
The Land Commission stressed that in the face of the Chinese Communist Party’s draconian laws and the deterioration of the situation in Hong Kong, the government is determined to defend national interests and dignity, as well as the rights and welfare of the people, and do its best to maintain normal exchanges between Taiwan and Hong Kong. The government will do its utmost to maintain normal exchanges between Taiwan and Hong Kong. The institutions in Hong Kong will also prepare appropriate contingency measures and persevere to the end.
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