Taiwan has told the Hong Kong government to stop interfering with the operations of a Taiwanese government agency that promotes economic and cultural ties between the two places and is set to help Hong Kong residents relocate to the self-ruled island.

The response came after Hong Kong on Saturday criticized Taiwan’s relocation plan for Hongkongers as interference in its affairs.

At the center of the row is a humanitarian scheme, announced earlier by Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, to set up a Taiwan-Hong Kong Service and Exchange Office under the Taiwan-Hong Kong Economic and Cultural Co-operation Council on July 1 to handle Hongkongers’ applications to move to the island, including those seeking sanctuary for political reasons.

The Hong Kong-Taiwan Economic and Cultural Co-operation and Promotion Council, which is the Hong Kong counterpart of the Taiwanese council, opposed the establishment of the office, saying it was a unilateral decision made by Taiwan.

It said that proposals to provide shelter to Hong Kong protesters would be detrimental to the Taiwanese public and it would not communicate or discuss with its Taiwanese counterpart on any such proposals. The council also requested its Taiwanese counterpart not to get involved in activities that did not match its functions and were damaging to Hong Kong’s prosperity and stability.



Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council weighed in after the Hong Kong council’s comments. It reiterated that the Taiwanese government was concerned about the situation in Hong Kong but had never interfered in the city’s affairs.

The new office would provide consultation and assistance to Hong Kong residents making inquiries on investing, studying and working in and migrating to Taiwan according to the law and humanitarian considerations, the Mainland Affairs Council said, adding that it had no intention to harm the stability of Hong Kong.

It pointed out that the Hong Kong council had postponed a joint meeting with the Taiwanese council and a secretariat meeting in recent years, decisions that it said deviated from the functions of the two councils and hindered exchange and cooperation between the two places.

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