【新唐人2011年11月29日讯】《南方都市报》前副总编辑长平，今年3月受聘为《阳光卫视》旗下电子期刊《阳光时务》主编，向香港政府入境处申请工作签证。但8个多月过去，一直没有得到回应。最近长平收到了香港入境处对他的答复。入境处宣称，长平在做访问学者期间，涉嫌违反逗留条件，但长平认为这一说法极不合理，质疑港府配合中共进行政治打压。
在舆论压力下，香港入境处终于在11月23号，对长平的申请进行首次答复。
现在德国参加写作项目的长平电话查询后被告知，今年3月份他在香港浸会大学做访问学者期间，涉嫌从事雇佣工作。入境处表示，希望长平到港直接面谈，并表示不一定会得出调查结论。
长平认为，入境处对他的审查已拖延大半年，至今才给出这样荒唐的理由，极不合理。他对《自由亚洲电台》表示，做访问学者是一种学术交流，并不是雇佣工作，全世界没有把访问学者当做工作关系对待的﹔入境处说做访问学者涉嫌非法工作，是全世界的笑话。
长平：“全香港的大学聘内地学者做短期访问，几乎都没有办理专门的签证，都是持旅游或者商务签证前往。这也是浸会大学给我发出邀请时的指引，如果有问题的话也不会是我这方面的原因，全世界的访学基本都是由学校方面帮访问者完成各项手续。”
现年42岁的长平是大陆知名媒体人、《南方都市报》前副总编辑，因为经常发表文章批评中共政府。今年1月，长平被当局要求承诺“不再写批评政府的评论文章”。长平表示不会屈从，而遭到南方报业集团解雇。
对于签证受阻，长平希望港府不要一味听命于中共政府，进行政治打压。长平质问：入境处说涉及不同部门，到底牵涉什么部门？要审查什么？
香港《明报》报导，浸会大学反驳入境处“打黑工”的说法指出，长平访问期间，学校仅提供单人房间、和包括交通费用在内的生活补贴每月6000港币，这并不是工作报酬，双方不是雇佣关系，而这也是香港各大学邀请学者访问的惯例。
香港民主党主席何俊仁律师表示，这根本就不是雇佣关系，也不是入境处所要管制的。他认为，香港入境处是受到一些压力、基于政治的考虑而迟迟不给长平工作签证，现在的说法只是借口。
香港支联会副主席蔡耀昌也对《德国之声》表示，香港法律确实规定，非工作签证不能在港进行工作，但长平作为访问学者参加演讲活动，不属于工作性质。
蔡耀昌：“长平这个个案，无论如何都让人感觉到，是不是背后有一些政治的原因，来做这些调查。如果他（长平）对入境处的处理有什么问题，他当然也可以在香港行使他一些法律的权利，他可以提出上诉或者法律途径的处理。”
很多网民也纷纷谴责入境处的做法，认为香港被中共入侵得越来越严重，越来越与大陆同化。去年（2010年），香港入境处就曾经因为中共的干扰，而拒绝“美国神韵艺术团”来港演出，导致演出被迫取消。经过法律诉讼，香港高院最终裁决入境处败诉。
新唐人记者李谦、周昕屹报导
Hong Kong Authorities Delay Chang Ping’s Work Visa
Former deputy chief editor of Southern Metropolis Daily,
Chang Ping, was employed as editor-in-chief by iSun Affairs, a magazine under SUN TV, this March.
However, Chang Ping’s visa application was delayed
for over eight months without getting any reply.
Recently Chang was told by the Hong Kong
Immigration Department that
he was suspected of breaching conditions of stay during
the period when he was a visiting scholar in Hong Kong.
Chang Ping thinks that this justification is extremely
unreasonable and questions whether the Hong Kong authorities
have coordinated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to
initiate political suppression.
On November 23 under pressure of public opinion,
the Hong Kong Immigration Department responded
for the first time to Chang Ping’s visa application.
Chang Ping, who is presently participating in a writing-project
in Germany, was told in his telephone inquiry that
during his stay as a visiting scholar in Hong Kong
Baptist University this March, he was suspected of engaging in unauthorized employment.
The Hong Kong Immigration Department said they hoped that
Chang Ping could go to Hong Kong for a face-to-face
interview, but claimed that the conclusions over the investigation
might not necessarily be attained.
Chang Ping said that the Hong Kong Immigration Department
had delayed his visa application examination for
over eight months. They did not give any explanation until
now and have given such an absurd and unreasonable excuse.
Chang Ping told Radio Free Asia that a visiting
scholar is an academic exchange, not one of employment.
A visiting scholar has never been treated as an employment
posting anywhere in the world, but he was alleged to be under suspicion of illegal
working by Hong Kong Immigration Department.
This is a farce.
Chang Ping: “Almost all Hong Kong universities,
never need to apply for a specific visa for mainland scholars who were invited for a short-term visit.
It’s ok for them to enter into Hong Kong with only tourist
or business visas.
That is also what the Hong Kong Baptist University told me
at the time of their invitation.
Even if some problems were to occur,
it shouldn’t be on my side.
Around the whole world, basically the host universities help their
visiting scholars to complete the usual formalities. “
42-year-old Chang Ping is a renowned media professional
in China and former deputy chief editor of Southern Metropolis Daily.
Chang often published articles criticizing CCP authorities.
This January, the CCP authorities required Chang Ping to
promise to “no longer write commentaries that criticize
the government." Chang gave a non-yielding response,
and was dismissed by the Southern Press Group.
In view of the delay in his visa application, Chang Ping
appealed to the Hong Kong authorities not to take orders from
the CCP authorities and initiate political suppression against him.
When Chang Ping asked, the Immigration Department claimed
the visa application involved different departments.
Then what on earth are these specific departments?
What content do they want to examine?
Hong Kong’s Ming Pao reported that Hong Kong Baptist Univ.
refuted Hong Kong Immigration Department’s allegation of illegal working.
The university stated that during his visit, Chang Ping was
only offered a single room and a monthly living allowance of 6,000 HK dollars covering transportation costs,
which was not job compensation, and
neither did employment relations between two parties exist.
This type of allowance is common practice for all Hong Kong
Universities to give to their invited visiting scholars.
The chairman of the Democratic Party ( in Hong Kong) and
lawyer, Albert Ho Chun-yan, said that this was absolutely not
an employment relationship, nor was it subject to regulation
by the Hong Kong Immigration Department.
Albert Ho believes that the Hong Kong Immigration Department
was under some pressure and
it was on the basis of political considerations that
they delayed issuing a work visa to Chang Ping. The current justification was just an excuse.
Choy Yiu-cheong, vice chairman of Hong Kong Alliance
in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements in China,
said to Voice of Germany that the laws of Hong Kong did
stipulate that non-working visa holders are not allowed to work in Hong Kong,
but Chang Ping, as a visiting scholar giving lectures,
did not fall into the category of employment.
Choy Yiu-cheong: “Chang Ping’s case makes people feel that
there might be some behind-the-screen political reasons that required them to make investigations.
If Chang Ping is dissatisfied with Hong Kong’s Immigration Dept’s
handling on the case, he can certainly exercise his legal rights
in Hong Kong, such as lodging an appeal or using other legal
approaches to deal with the matter. “
Many netizens also joined in condemning this practice
by Hong Kong’s Immigration Dept,
saying that Hong Kong has been increasingly invaded
by the CCP, and is becoming more and more assimilated to mainland China.
In 2010, under the CCP’s interference,
Hong Kong Immigration Department rejected the visa
applications of the US-based Shen Yun Performing Arts
leading to the cancellation of the shows in Hong Kong.
After going through legal proceedings, the
Hong Kong High Court made a final verdict that Hong Kong Immigration Department was at fault.
NTD reporters Li Qian and Zhou Xinyi
