'Blacklisted' Taiwanese activist vows to attend Hong Kong's July 1 rally
'Blacklisted' Taiwanese protest leader vows to attend pro-democracy rally in Hong Kong despite not having a permit to enter the city
A Taiwanese student protest leader has vowed to travel to Hong Kong despite his claims of being "blacklisted" by the Immigration Department after it rejected his application to enter the city for the annual July 1 pro-democracy rally.
"Regardless of what they will do, this will not stop me from going to Hong Kong as planned," Chen Wei-ting told the South China Morning Post when asked if he was aware that he could be arrested and deported for trying to enter the city without a permit.
This year's rally - which marks the handover of Hong Kong from Britain to China 17 years ago - comes amid heated debate over how to implement universal suffrage for the 2017 chief executive election and a controversial central government white paper on the limits of Hong Kong's autonomy.
Chen is a leading figure in the Sunflower movement, which mobilised hundreds to occupy Taiwan's legislature in March in an effort to stop a service trade agreement with the mainland.
The rejection of his online application for "pre-arrival registration" - normally a trouble-free process that allows Taiwan residents entry into Hong Kong - prompted two other prominent figures in the movement, Lin Fei-fan and Huang Kuo-chang, to try to apply online as well.