Fake News! HK Newspaper Describes Journalist as "Secret Envoy"|香港左媒假新聞 稱港獨學生會"蔡密使"

Student Localism is a pro-Hong Kong independence youth group. Four of its members had arrived in Taiwan for a visit. However, they were spied on by a China-leaning newspaper Ta Kung Pao. The newspaper subsequently then published an article saying that Student Localism activists met with a "secret envoy" of President Tsai Ing-wen, but actually, this secret envoy turned out just to be a Taiwanese journalist interviewing the students. The Presidential Office has criticized the newspaper for printing fake news and ordered an investigation.


The headline says that a secret envoy sent by President Tsai Ing-wen met with student activists from the pro-Hong Kong independence youth group Student Localism. This article was published by Ta Kung Pao, a China-leaning newspaper in Hong Kong. On Jan. 11, four Student Localism members, including convener Tony Chung, arrived in Taiwan for a visit. During their visit, they met with a man who had emerged from the Presidential Office. The newspaper insinuated this was a meeting about Taiwan and Hong Kong independence.

The other members and I all saw a Hong Kong person with a mobile phone taking photos of us. This is what we saw in Taiwan. We didn't meet with anyone from your Taiwan government while we were there. However, they (Ta Kung Pao) made up a lot of fake news.

Chung said he and the others were followed from the time they boarded the plane in Hong Kong. Their five-day itinerary in Taiwan was quite simple, but their every move, even tourist site visits, was documented by the media, which later created fake news with the content. Chung says he feels very uneasy about it. The secret envoy the newspaper referred to was actually Liberty Times journalist and Presidential Office correspondent Su Yong-yao. He met with the student activists to interview them. The Presidential Office has denounced Ta Kung Pao for publishing fake news.

We strongly denounce the China-leaning Ta Kung Pao for using spying techniques, making up stories, and making up fake news with the aim of misleading public opinion. We would like to ask the National Security Bureau and other relevant entities to immediately launch an investigation.

According to Chung, Hong Kong authorities are cracking down on pro-democracy activism. He added he is merely a student, and this incident could affect the desire of Hong Kong people to visit Taiwan. He hopes the Taiwan government can do its duty to protect. The Mainland Affairs Council says a Ta Kung Pao journalist had applied to visit Taiwan as an independent traveler and is currently still in Taiwan. It is investigating, and will deport the journalist if any illegal behavior is uncovered. It may also reject any future applications for the journalist to come to Taiwan.