Taiwanese authorities have rejected former President Ma Ying-jeou's request to visit Hong Kong later this month to attend an award ceremony organized by the Society of Publishers in Asia (SOPA). Ma was invited as one of the keynote speakers for the event where he was hoping to speak on cross-strait relations.   

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The office of President Tsai Ing-wen sated that Ma would not be allowed to visit Hong Kong as the former president may still be possessing some sensitive documents and classified information.    

"As Ma submitted his request just 13 days after he left office, at such short notice, it is unlikely that the new government could discover what kind of classified information he'd accessed and whether he had returned all those documents and completed clearance procedures," said presidential spokesman Alex Huang.

As per Taiwan's Classified National Security Information Protection Act, ex-government officials with access to classified information and sensitive documents are subjected to travel restrictions for at least three years after resigning from the office.

Ma left office on May 20 after the Kuomintang Party lost January's presidential election to Tsai's pro-independent party Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).

If Ma's visit to Hong Kong had been cleared, then he would have become the most senior ex-leader from Taiwan to visit Hong Kong since 1949.

Ma's office immediately expressed regret over the decision. A spokeswoman said that the decision not only showed disrespect to the former president but caused damage to Taiwan's democratic credentials in the world.     

However, the decision was welcome by members of DPP. A DPP lawmaker said that former president was planning to promote the "one China" principle during his Hong Kong visit.              

During his eight years as president of Taiwan, Ma was widely criticized for his moderate policies towards China. Many political experts had feared that his "pro-China" policies would one day steer Taiwan towards unification with China.       

TagsTaiwan, Ma Ying-jeou, China and Taiwan, Cross-Strait relation