Taiwan Official Denied Macao Visa Over Refusal To Sign 'One China' Document
An official that Taiwan posted to its representative office in Macao is unable to get a visa for the Chinese territory unless they agree to sign a document recognizing Chinese sovereignty over Taiwan. It's the second time Taiwan has been asked to make such a concession, after Hong Kong made a similar demand in 2021.
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00:00Taiwan's foreign ministry is having trouble sending staff to its representative office
00:05in the Chinese Autonomous Region of Macau.
00:08An official that was going to be posted there cannot get a visa.
00:12That's because they're refusing a demand by the Macau government to recognize Beijing's
00:17One China principle.
00:20That principle advocates that there is only one China, ruled by Beijing, and Taiwan is
00:26a part of it.
00:27It's something that the government of democratic Taiwan, which has never been ruled by the
00:32Chinese Communist Party, does not accept.
00:35We want to warn the Macau government to remove unnecessary obstacles, and to deal with the
00:42issue of sending staff.
00:43Liang says the office's passport and visa services are being affected by a lack of staff.
00:49This isn't the first time it's happened.
00:51In 2021, Taipei recalled its Taiwanese staff from their Hong Kong office, after the government
00:58there made a similar demand.
01:01China has been ramping up diplomatic pressure on Taiwan as part of a campaign to one day
01:06control it.
01:08In a message to Macau, Taipei says imposing political conditions in return for a visa
01:13is unreasonable, and that such a requirement will harm Macau's international image, as
01:20well as exchanges between the territory and Taiwan.
01:24Justin Wu and Louise Watt in Taipei for Taiwan Plus.