TAIPEI THREATENS TO BAN PRO-BEIJING NEWSPAPERS, JOURNALISTS
TAIPEI— Taipei has threatened to ban reporters from two Hong Kong-based newspapers on “national security” grounds because of editorial positions sympathetic to Beijing.
Officials said journalists from Wen Wei Po and Ta Kung Pao newspapers would be banned from Taiwan for up to three years if they did not provide a “reasonable explanation” for their activities.
Beijing’s spies
The government claimed that the pro-China media outlets and “unofficial operatives” committed “unlawful” acts, including invasive surveillance, and spread “fake news.”
Visits to Taiwan in January by several Hong Kong activists generated heavy coverage by the two newspapers, including detailed reports of their movements and meetings.
A Reuters examination of both papers’ articles show that at least 25 people linked to antiChina and independence causes have been the subject of intense coverage, including covert photography and the reporting of personal details, in Taiwan during the past three years.
Ta Kung Pao and Wen Wei Po did not respond to a request for comment but, Reuters said, “such papers … would be expected to pay close attention to activists pursuing causes that upset the Chinese government.”
The unidentified activists said the two paper’s coverage “stretched into the realm of harassment, including surveillance on overseas trips, and publishing details of their private lives, including homes, work and daily movements.”
“I was followed until I almost left the airport,” Andy Chan, one of the Hong Kong activists, said of his time in Taiwan. “There are operatives for China everywhere.”
“It’s obvious that there’s intervention from outside forces with an aim to intimidate people,” Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council Deputy Minister Chiu Chui-cheng told Reuters.
The coverage raised concerns about the activities of “Chinese and Hong Kong intelligence operatives” on the island, Chiu added, including people working for pro-China media outlets.
More incentives for Taiwan
Taipei announced the possible ban on the two newspapers as Chinese Premier Li Keqiang announced that Beijing will introduce more “preferential policies” for Taiwan.
Li said new initiatives will be implemented to invite people from Taiwan to “work handin-hand to realize our shared dream for the nation.”
The new initiatives follow 31 incentives recently introduced to bolster China’s argument that political unification should follow close economic ties.