China might issue permit for minister, source says
By Chen Yu-fu, Lin Che-yuan and William Hetherington / Staff reporters, with staff writer
Beijing might arrange a Taiwan compatriot permit for Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) on his behalf when he attends an APEC ministerial meeting in Nanjing later this month, although the host has already confirmed he is to enter China by presenting his invitation letter, a source said.
The APEC Human Resources Development Ministerial Meeting is to commence on Monday next week in Nanjing.
Hung is to attend, making him the first minister in President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration to visit China.
Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han speaks to reporters on the sidelines of an event in Taipei yesterday.
Photo: Tien Yu-hua, Taipei Times
Asked at a news conference on Wednesday last week whether Hung would need a Taiwan compatriot permit to enter China, Taiwan Affairs Office spokesman Chen Binhua (陳斌華) skirted the question, saying only that Taiwan’s participation in APEC meetings and activities has always been handled in accordance with the “one China” principle, and the provisions and practices of APEC memorandums of understanding.
The source said Taiwan has a liaison mechanism involving senior APEC officials and recently received the invitation letter through the mechanism.
The authorities would provide it to the Ministry of Labor, and Hung would enter China using the invitation letter, the source said.
APEC is an international forum, and Beijing would not arbitrarily arrest someone attending the event, the source said, adding that Hung is not among those Beijing has designated as a “Taiwan independence diehard.”
Several APEC ministerial meetings have been held in China, with more than 200 Taiwanese officials attending over the years without incident, the official said.
However, the source cautioned that China’s legal system continues to regard Taiwanese nationals as citizens of the People’s Republic of China.
Even if Hung neither applies for nor receives a Taiwan compatriot permit, Chinese authorities may, without his knowledge, arrange for someone to obtain one on his behalf, the source said.
That is a longstanding practice of the Chinese government, the source said, adding that Taiwanese officials who previously traveled to China for APEC meetings also had Taiwan compatriot permits secretly obtained for them and were treated as Chinese citizens.
Democratic Progressive Party caucus secretary-general Chuang Jui-hsiung (莊瑞雄) yesterday said that the Chinese government obtaining a Taiwan compatriot permit for Hung would not turn a Taiwanese official into the kind of Chinese citizen Beijing considers him to be.
When Taiwan joined APEC in 1991, the memorandum did not contain any so-called “one China” principle, Chuang said, adding that Beijing was taking advantage of this year’s meeting being held in China to take liberties with Taiwan.
Beijing could obtain a Taiwan compatriot permit for Hung if it wants to, but Hung does not have to accept it, he added.
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