MAC confirms detention of Hualien delegation member in Hong Kong

Taipei, March. 5 (CNA) Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) confirmed Wednesday the detention of a Taiwanese national in Hong Kong, a member of a delegation "led by" opposition Kuomintang (KMT) legislative caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅崐萁) to the Chinese Special Administrative Region in February.

The detained individual, a travel industry operator from Hualien County, was a member of a delegation organized by the county government -- with Fu and Hualien County Magistrate Hsu Chen-wei (徐榛蔚) in attendance -- to attend a travel expo in Hong Kong last month, the MAC said in a written reply to CNA.

The individual was arrested upon arriving in Hong Kong and remained in detention as of Wednesday, the MAC added.

The council said that after receiving a report of the arrest, the MAC-run Office of Hong Kong Affairs in Hong Kong immediately provided necessary assistance to the individual and later confirmed the arrest was made on suspicion of involvement in a criminal case.

The detention first came to light when Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) revealed it during an interview on an internet program that aired early Wednesday, during which he said the delegation was "led by" Fu.

Chinese-language Mirror Media reported the same day that the detained individual, a woman surnamed Chen (陳), is accused of involvement in a money laundering case in Hong Kong 25 years ago.

On Wednesday evening, Fu wrote in a Facebook post that he "had never known" the detained individual, who he said is a senior staff member at the Shin Kong Chao Feng Resort Ranch.

"As for the case that occurred in Hong Kong 25 years ago, no one knows the details," Fu said, adding that the case is "entirely unrelated" to the individual's current work in the tourism industry in Hualien.

Fu added that Hualien County government was invited to form a delegation to attend the travel expo held on Feb. 20 in Hong Kong, and any local tourism operators in Hualien could join at their own expense.

"Fu Kun-chi was neither a member of the delegation nor its leader," Fu said, noting that he traveled to Hong Kong and attended the event at his own expense "to help promote Hualien tourism."

Hualien County Councilor Fu Kuo-yuan (傅國淵) said that according to his understanding of the situation, the case involving the detained individual is being handled by the West Kowloon Court, with a first hearing held on March 2 and a bail hearing scheduled for Friday, a report by the Chinese-language United Daily News read.