SCRUTINIZED:Former president Ma Ying-jeou has substantial amount of classified information that needs to remain confidential, according to the Presidential Office
Taipei Times
Date: Jun 13, 2016
By: Stacy Hsu / Staff reporter
The Presidential Office yesterday turned down former president Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) application to
Presidential Office spokesman Alex Huang yesterday in Taipei announces the Presidential Office’s decision not to approve former president Ma Ying-jeou’s application to visit Hong Kong on Wednesday. Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
travel to Hong Kong on Wednesday, citing national security concerns and the highly-sensitive nature of the planned destination.
Speaking at a news conference yesterday afternoon, Presidential Office spokesman Alex Huang (黃重諺) said that the office rejected Ma’s application after factoring in the counsel of an ad hoc group established to review the former president’s travel request.
“In light of the significance, particularity and sensitivity of the role of a retired president in the area of national security, as well as the lack of precedents, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) instructed Presidential Office Secretary-General Lin Bih-jaw (林碧炤) and National Security Council Secretary-General Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) to form an ad hoc group to evaluate the case and offer their suggestions,” Huang said.
Huang said the group solicited opinions from six government agencies — the National Security Council, the National Security Bureau (NSB), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of National Defense, the Ministry of Justice and the Mainland Affairs Council. [FULL STORY]
