TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A foreign ministry official set to be posted to Taiwan’s representative office in Macau had their visa rejected for refusing to express commitment to Beijing’s “One China” principle, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said on Thursday (Aug. 1).

Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑), MAC’s deputy head and spokesperson, said at a press conference that the denied official would have replaced a staff member posted in Macau for over ten years, per CNA. 

However, they could not obtain a visa “as the Macau government continues to unilaterally impose a political condition for visa applications," Liang said.

According to CNA, the Macau government has required officials posted to the Taiwan representative office to sign a letter committing to Beijing’s “One China” principle since 2019. The One China Principle opposes any claims to “two Chinas” or Taiwan independence.

Previously, officials had visa extensions granted before the requirement was put in place, Liang said.

Liang called on the Macau government to handle the processing of visas amicably and allow representatives to attend postings. He said the decision to deny the visas will impact exchanges between Taiwan and Macau and may hurt Macau’s international image.

According to MAC, eight Taiwanese staff and 14 local employees are at the representative office in Macau. The Taiwanese staff are employees of the foreign ministry, the MAC, the immigration department, and other ministries.

Macau was a Portuguese territory until it was returned to China in 1999. Since then it has been governed as a special administrative region in China under the “one country, two systems” framework.