Archived link

Taiwan said it’s having difficulty sending staff to its representative office in Macau because the special administrative region’s government is demanding that they sign a commitment to the “One China Principle” to get a visa.

A Taiwan official who was set to be posted to the Macau, which China resumed sovereignty over in 1999, couldn’t get a visa, Mr Liang Wen-chieh, deputy head of Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council, said at a briefing on Aug 1.

He urged Macau to remove the obstacle and deal with the issue in a friendly manner, but added that Taiwan will “prepare for the worst,” without elaborating.

At issue is Macau’s demand that Taiwan officials commit to the “One China Principle” which states that there is only one China, ruled by the Beijing-based Communist government, and that Taiwan is an inalienable part of the country. That position is anathema to Taiwan, a democratic and self-ruled island, which argues it has the right of self-determination and that it has never been under the sovereignty of the People’s Republic of China.