Taiwan-Hong Kong ties in jeopardy over work permits

Taipei has accused Hong Kong of ignoring its requests to renew the work permits for staff at its de facto consulate in the city

Eight officials will have to leave Hong Kong at the end of the year if their papers are not renewed

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Chiu Chui-cheng, vice-chairman of the Mainland Affairs Council, says the eight Taiwanese officials in Hong Kong will continue working as long as they can. Photo: CNA

Published: 8:00pm, 15 May 2021Updated: 8:57pm, 15 May 2021

Taiwan-Hong Kong relations might revert to basic interactions as was the case decades ago because of problems with the renewal of the work permits needed by officials to work in each other’s jurisdiction, observers said.

The two sides have been in a long-running dispute over Hong Kong’s refusal to send local man Chan Tong-kai, who is suspected of murdering his girlfriend during a 2018 visit to Taiwan to stand trial on the island.

Ties were further strained this week when Taipei accused Hong Kong of ignoring its requests to renew the work permits of staff at Taiwan’s de facto consulate in the city.

Eight workers will be unable to stay in Hong Kong after their permits expire at the end of the year, according to the Mainland Affairs Council, which handles Taiwan’s dealings with mainland China.

Chan Tong-kai is suspected of murdering his girlfriend during a 2018 visit to Taiwan. Photo: Sam Tsang

Chiu Chui-cheng, its vice-chairman, said in legislature on Monday that the eight officials had applied for the permits in line with an agreement signed by the two sides in 2011 and that they had not done anything to breach the terms of that deal during their time in Hong Kong.

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