Taipei, June 12 (CNA) The Cabinet and various political parties on Sunday expressed different opinions on the Presidential Office's decision to turn down an application by former President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) to visit Hong Kong for an award ceremony.
The Presidential Office said earlier in day that it had rejected Ma's application for permission to visit Hong Kong to deliver a speech at an award ceremony and dinner that will be hosted by the Society of Publishers in Asia (SOPA) on June 15.
The application was rejected on the grounds that Ma had had access to huge volumes of classified national security information as president and that it was less than one month since he had left office.
The task force assigned to review the application also took into consideration the difficulty involved in controlling the risks of a former president visiting Hong Kong, which is a highly sensitive area in terms of Taiwan's national security, a government spokesman said.
Furthermore, Taiwan's National Security Bureau has no experience of cooperation with its Hong Kong counterpart and there was not enough time to coordinate with other authorities in Hong Kong or mainland China, the spokesman said.
Under Taiwan's Classified National Security Information Protection Act that was introduced in 2003, former presidents, premiers and government ministers with classified status are required to gain government approval for overseas travel up to three years after leaving office.
Cabinet spokesman Tung Chen-yuan (童振源) said the Executive Yuan respects the decision by the Presidential Office, which was in accordance with the act and other relevant regulations.
However, Chou Chih-wei (周志偉), director of the KMT's Culture and Communications Committee, slammed the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government, saying it had double standards for dealing with Ma and former President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), who is now on medical parole from prison where he was serving a 20-year sentence for corruption.
Chou said the government had allowed Chen to attend a dinner celebrating the establishment of a foundation in Taipei earlier this month, but had rejected the application by Ma, a law-abiding citizen, to travel to Hong Kong.
Echoing Chou's views, KMT legislative caucus whip Lin Te-fu (林德 福) said the decision to reject Ma's application was politically motivated.
Lin said Ma was unlikely to leak classified information while delivering a speech in public in Hong Kong.
However, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus secretary-general Wu Ping-jui (吳秉叡) expressed support for the Presidential Office's decision, saying that it was in the national interest.
Any of leak classified information during Ma's visit would have been harmful to Taiwan, Wu said.
New Power Party (NPP) convener Hsu Yung-ming （徐永明） also supported the decision, saying that while Ma has the freedom to travel overseas, he also has a responsibility as a former head of state to accept the decision.
People First Party caucus whip Chen Yi-chieh (陳怡潔) said she hoped the same standards would be applied to retired presidents in the future.
Meanwhile, DPP spokesman Yang Chia-liang (楊家俍) said Ma should view the decision in a positive light and accept it, based on considerations of national security and national interest.
(By Sophia Yeh, Claudia Liu, Justin Su, Tai Ya-chen and Evelyn Kao)
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