Taiwanese legal scholar and parliamentary election candidate Huang Kuo-chang (M) during an electoral campaign (Source: Facebook)
The Hong Kong authorities have denied the visa application of a Taiwanese parliamentary election candidate who planned to come to the territory for a CNN interview.
New Power Party member and prominent activist Huang Kuo-chang is a candidate in the country’s upcoming parliamentary elections. He was invited to a CNN interview in Hong Kong, but was informed by authorities that his visa has been declined for the second time in two years, HKFP reports.
The scholar was also denied entry to Hong Kong in June 2014 when he planned to join events in support of the upcoming Occupy Central movement.
On Tuesday, Huang spoke of his disappointment in a Facebook post.
“It’s beyond my understanding why the Hong Kong authorities would deny a moderate and rational legal academic like me entry,” he commented. “The only plausible reason is that Hong Kong has long lost its autonomy under Beijing’s grasp.”
Huang was a legal studies researcher at Taiwan’s Academic Sinica. He joined the New Power Party shortly after the Sunflower Movement – which saw protesters occupy government offices for 23 days in 2014 – and has been chairperson since 2015.
The Immigration Department declined to comment on the case, saying they consider all relevant factors in accordance to the laws and policies of Hong Kong when deciding visa applications.
http://hongkong.coconuts.co/2016/01/07/hong-kong-authorities-deny-entry-taiwanese-election-candidate-and-scholar
