Legislator Su Chih-fen at Noi Bai International Airport on Aug 1, 2016
focustaiwan.tw, Aug 2, 2016
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Su Chih-fen (蘇治芬) was held for nine hours at an airport in Vietnam on Monday as she was getting ready to visit Formosa Plastics’ steel plant about 300 kilometers south of Hanoi.
Su said on her Facebook page that Vietnamese immigration authorities confiscated her passport and boarding pass at No Bai International Airport in Hanoi on Monday even though she was set to board a domestic flight to Vinh City.
She and those traveling with her were then to take a bus to the Taiwanese-invested steel plant in Ha Tinh.
With Su not having a boarding pass or passport, the rest of the group traveling with her decided not to board the plane and instead waited until the problem was resolved.
Richard R. C. Shih (石瑞琦), the representative of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Vietnam, intervened and negotiated with Vietnamese authorities, and the group was released at 6 p.m.
By that time, the only option Su and her fellow travelers had to travel from Hanoi to Ha Tinh was to take a bus, and they were expected to arrive in Ha Tinh on Tuesday afternoon.
Su was reportedly in Vietnam in a private capacity on a visit from July 31 to Aug. 4, and in addition to the steel plant was also scheduled to visit Taiwanese businessmen in the country to better gauge the prospects for Taiwan’s “New Southbound Policy.”
Tran Duy Hai, chairman of the Vietnam Economic and Cultural Office in Taipei, said Tuesday that Su violated Vietnamese regulations which bar foreign nationals who enter the country on a tourist visa through a travel agency from going on trips that are not included in their itinerary.
Asked why only Su in the group was denied a boarding pass, Tran said it was because immigration officials knew that she was a legislator.
Tran urged Taiwanese officials or lawmakers who want to visit Vietnam to apply to his office beforehand so that arrangements can be made for them.
According to a report in the China Times, Su was denied a boarding pass because she wanted to visit an anti-government religious organization.
Opposition Kuomintang legislative caucus secretary-general Lin Te-fu (林德福) described the seizure of Su’s passport by Vietnamese officials as a serious matter, saying that it showed the country’s disregard for a Taiwanese lawmaker.
He urged the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to address the issue.
Lin also said that in the absence of a sound investment guarantee agreement between Taiwan and Vietnam, the interests of Taiwanese investors in Vietnam could not be protected, and he argued that the issue needed to be resolved before the government proceeds with its new southbound policy.
That policy was already seen to suffer a setback when Vietnamese authorities fined Formosa Plastics’ steel factory around US$500 million on June 30 for polluting coastal waters that caused the death of massive numbers of fish.
Nikkei Asian Review reported a few days later, however, that a source close to the company said it was coerced into pleading guilty, suggesting that internal political factors in Vietnam were at play.
Su at the time said the environmental disaster posed a threat to the new southbound policy.
Height Insoles: Hi, I do believe this is an excellent site. I stumbledupon …
http://fishinglovers.net: Appreciate you sharing, great post.Thanks Again. Keep writi…
Achilles Pain causes: Every weekend i used to pay a quick visit this site, as i w…
August 3, 2016
DPP lawmaker held in Vietnam airport for 9 hours
by Nhan Quyen • [Human Rights]
Legislator Su Chih-fen at Noi Bai International Airport on Aug 1, 2016
focustaiwan.tw, Aug 2, 2016
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Su Chih-fen (蘇治芬) was held for nine hours at an airport in Vietnam on Monday as she was getting ready to visit Formosa Plastics’ steel plant about 300 kilometers south of Hanoi.
Su said on her Facebook page that Vietnamese immigration authorities confiscated her passport and boarding pass at No Bai International Airport in Hanoi on Monday even though she was set to board a domestic flight to Vinh City.
She and those traveling with her were then to take a bus to the Taiwanese-invested steel plant in Ha Tinh.
With Su not having a boarding pass or passport, the rest of the group traveling with her decided not to board the plane and instead waited until the problem was resolved.
Richard R. C. Shih (石瑞琦), the representative of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Vietnam, intervened and negotiated with Vietnamese authorities, and the group was released at 6 p.m.
By that time, the only option Su and her fellow travelers had to travel from Hanoi to Ha Tinh was to take a bus, and they were expected to arrive in Ha Tinh on Tuesday afternoon.
Su was reportedly in Vietnam in a private capacity on a visit from July 31 to Aug. 4, and in addition to the steel plant was also scheduled to visit Taiwanese businessmen in the country to better gauge the prospects for Taiwan’s “New Southbound Policy.”
Tran Duy Hai, chairman of the Vietnam Economic and Cultural Office in Taipei, said Tuesday that Su violated Vietnamese regulations which bar foreign nationals who enter the country on a tourist visa through a travel agency from going on trips that are not included in their itinerary.
Asked why only Su in the group was denied a boarding pass, Tran said it was because immigration officials knew that she was a legislator.
Tran urged Taiwanese officials or lawmakers who want to visit Vietnam to apply to his office beforehand so that arrangements can be made for them.
According to a report in the China Times, Su was denied a boarding pass because she wanted to visit an anti-government religious organization.
Opposition Kuomintang legislative caucus secretary-general Lin Te-fu (林德福) described the seizure of Su’s passport by Vietnamese officials as a serious matter, saying that it showed the country’s disregard for a Taiwanese lawmaker.
He urged the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to address the issue.
Lin also said that in the absence of a sound investment guarantee agreement between Taiwan and Vietnam, the interests of Taiwanese investors in Vietnam could not be protected, and he argued that the issue needed to be resolved before the government proceeds with its new southbound policy.
That policy was already seen to suffer a setback when Vietnamese authorities fined Formosa Plastics’ steel factory around US$500 million on June 30 for polluting coastal waters that caused the death of massive numbers of fish.
Nikkei Asian Review reported a few days later, however, that a source close to the company said it was coerced into pleading guilty, suggesting that internal political factors in Vietnam were at play.
Su at the time said the environmental disaster posed a threat to the new southbound policy.