香港暫停台灣代表處的業務 - 緊張局勢升温

HK suspends operations at representative office in Taiwan as tensions rise

Sharon Tam and Yimou Lee

Reuters May 17, 2021 11:25 PM PDT

HONG KONG/TAIPEI (Reuters) -Hong Kong government's suspended on Tuesday operations at its representative office in Taiwan in a sign of escalating diplomatic tension between the global financial hub and the democratically ruled island that Beijing claims.

Tension between Hong Kong's Beijing-backed government and Taiwan have risen since pro-democracy protests erupted in Hong Kong in 2019 and China responded by imposing a sweeping national security law in the city that prompted many activists to leave, some for Taiwan.

A Hong Kong government representative did not provide an explanation for the decision to halt operations at the Hong Kong Economic, Trade and Cultural Office, adding only that the decision was not related to the recent rise in coronavirus cases in Taiwan.

"The suspension is not related to the pandemic situation in Taiwan. We do not have anything further to add," the representative said in a statement.

Taiwan's government said that while it respected the decision, it also regretted it.

"We express deep regret at today's unilateral decision by the Hong Kong government," Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council said in a statement.

Taiwan has criticised the security law that Beijing imposed in Hong Kong and opened an office in Taipei to help people who may want to leave.

In August last year, China intercepted a boat carrying 12 people from Hong Kong, who had all faced charges related to the anti-government protests, and were apparently looking to escape to Taiwan.

Last year, Taiwan officials in Hong Kong were told their visas would not be renewed unless they signed a document supporting Beijing's claim to Taiwan under its "one China" policy, a person with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council said this month there were only eight Taiwanese staff members left at its de facto consulate in Hong Kong, and that all their visas were due to expire this year.

Hong Kong's Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau said the suspension in operations meant requests for assistance from Hong Kong people in Taiwan would be handled through hotlines and via a Hong Kong government website.

Beijing sees Taiwan as part of "one China" and has never renounced the use of force to bring the island under its control.

China has proposed that Taiwan be brought under Chinese rule under a similar "one country two systems" arrangement it offered to Hong Kong when it returned to Chinese rule in 1997.

All of Taiwan's main political parties have rejected the idea.

Hong Kong has long served as an important trade and investment conduit between Taiwan and China, which have no diplomatic relations.

The security law in Hong Kong punishes what China broadly defines as subversion, secession, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces with up to life in prison.

Critics of the law fear it will crush the wide-ranging freedoms promised when it returned to Chinese rule. Supporters say it has restored the stability that is essential for its economic success.

(Reporting by Sharon Tam in Hong Kong and Yimou Lee in Taipei; Writing by Marius Zaharia; Editing by Michael Perry, Robert Birsel)

Translation

緊張局勢加劇，香港暫停台灣代表處的業務

香港/台北（路透社）- 香港政府週二暫停了其在台灣代表處的業務，顯示這全球金融中心, 與北京宣稱擁有, 而受民主統治的島嶼之間的外交緊張局勢有升級的跡象。

自2019年在香港爆發支持民主的抗議活動以來，由北京支持的香港政府, 與台灣之間的緊張關係有所加劇。中國對抗議活動採取了全面的國家安全法，促使許多活躍分子離開，其中一些到了台灣。

關於停止在香港經濟貿易和文化辦公室開展業務的決定，一位香港政府代表沒有提出解釋, 只是補充說該決定與台灣最近出現的冠狀病毒病例增加無關。

該代表在一份聲明中說：“中止與台灣的病毒大流行情況無關。我們沒有其他內容要補充。”

台灣政府說，儘管尊重這一決定，但也感到遺憾。

台灣大陸事務委員會在一份聲明中說：“我們對香港政府今天的單方面決定深表遺憾。”

台灣曾批評北京在香港實施的安全法，並在台北開設了辦事處，以幫助可能要離開香港的人。

去年八月，中國截獲一艘從香港出發的船, 它載有十二個都已被指控與反政府抗議活動有關的人。顯然他們正在逃往台灣。

一位直接了解情事的人士告訴路透社說，去年在香港的台灣官員曾被告知，除非他們簽署文件, 去支持北京“一個中國”政策, 而北京根據它擁有台灣，否則他們的簽證將不會被續簽。

台灣大陸事務委員會本月表示，實質上駐香港的台灣領事館, 現只剩下八名台灣工作人員，他們的所有簽證都將於今年到期。

香港憲政及內地事務局表示，暫停運作意味著香港民眾在台灣的援助請求, 將通過熱線電話和香港政府網站去處理。

北京視台灣為“一個中國”的一部分，從未放棄使用武力將台灣置於其控制之下。

中國提議將台灣置於中國統治之下, 安排上類似香港於1997年回歸中國統治時, 向它實施的“一國兩制”。

台灣所有主要政黨都拒絕了這個主意。

長期以來，香港一直是台灣與中國之間沒有外交關係的重要貿易和投資渠道。

香港的安全法懲罰了中國廣義上的顛覆，分裂國家，恐怖主義和與外國勢力串通的行為，最高可判處終身監禁。

批評者擔心，該法律破壞回歸統治時, 中國曾作出的廣泛自由承諾。但支持者說，它恢復了穩定性, 對香港經濟成功至關重要。

So, Hong Kong government suspends the operations of its representative office in Taiwan. It its a sign that Hong Kong is getting more involved in the diplomatic tensions between Taiwan and Beijing. Hong Kong is more looked like a Chinese city in stead of a political neutral international hub. China’s grip on Hong Kong is getting more  direct and obvious.