In a display of solidarity with ongoing pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong, demonstrators stormed the lobby of the Hong Kong representative office in Taipei late on Sunday night, occupying it until yesterday morning.
About 100 demonstrators, mostly students, dispersed at about 10am after a tense exchange with office director John Leung (梁志仁) and minor clashes with police.
Headed by Sunflower movement leaders Chen Wei-ting (陳為廷) and Lin Fei-fan (林飛帆), the group protested against police brutality in Hong Kong and demanded that President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) halt all political and economic cross-strait negotiations.
Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Taipei Times
Upon arriving at the building at about 11pm on Sunday, the students staged a sit-in in the lobby, while large banners with pro-democracy slogans were drawn on the ground outside. Throughout the night, demonstrators sang songs and chanted slogans in Mandarin, Taiwanese and Cantonese, with many taught on the spot by students from Hong Kong.
Academia Sinica researcher Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) arrived in a small truck owned by Taiwan March, an activist organization founded by Lin, Chen and others. Loudspeakers attached to the truck and a portable sound system were used to amplify the protest.
Lau Ka-yee (劉家儀), a women’s rights activist from Hong Kong, was among a number of speakers during the night.
Photo: Lo Pei-der, Taipei Times
Lau said it was heartbreaking for her to watch her compatriots face police brutality while she could not be there in person.
She warned Taiwanese to never underestimate the pace of Beijing’s actions.
“Taiwanese often say that today’s Hong Kong will be tomorrow’s Taiwan. However, I think: ‘Today’s Hong Kong is today’s Taiwan’ is closer to the truth. People need to gain a sense of urgency,” she said.
While speaking on stage at Liberty Square on Saturday night, Chen expressed his gratitude for support from Hong Kong during the Sunflower movement.
“After the March 24 crackdown at the Executive Yuan, our friends in Hong Kong held a rally outside the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Hong Kong in protest against the actions of the Ma administration,” Chen said. “This time, with our friends in need, we should think of a way to show our support in return.”
Leung made a brief appearance, saying he was unfamiliar with the situation in Hong Kong, as he was in Taiwan, a reply that was met with hisses from protesters.
RESPONSE: The transit sends a message that China’s alignment with other countries would not deter the West from defending freedom of navigation, an academic said Canadian frigate the Ville de Quebec and Australian guided-missile destroyer the Brisbane transited the Taiwan Strait yesterday morning, the first time the two nations have conducted a joint freedom of navigation operation. The Canadian and Australian militaries did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Ministry of National Defense declined to confirm the passage, saying only that Taiwan’s armed forces had deployed surveillance and reconnaissance assets, along with warships and combat aircraft, to safeguard security across the Strait. The two vessels were observed transiting northward along the eastern side of the Taiwan Strait’s median line, with Japan being their most likely destination,
‘NOT ALONE’: A Taiwan Strait war would disrupt global trade routes, and could spark a worldwide crisis, so a powerful US presence is needed as a deterrence, a US senator said US Senator Deb Fischer on Thursday urged her colleagues in the US Congress to deepen Washington’s cooperation with Taiwan and other Indo-Pacific partners to contain the global security threat from China. Fischer and other lawmakers recently returned from an official trip to the Indo-Pacific region, where they toured US military bases in Hawaii and Guam, and visited leaders, including President William Lai (賴清德). The trip underscored the reality that the world is undergoing turmoil, and maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific region is crucial to the security interests of the US and its partners, she said. Her visit to Taiwan demonstrated ways the
GLOBAL ISSUE: If China annexes Taiwan, ‘it will not stop its expansion there, as it only becomes stronger and has more force to expand further,’ the president said China’s military and diplomatic expansion is not a sole issue for Taiwan, but one that risks world peace, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that Taiwan would stand with the alliance of democratic countries to preserve peace through deterrence. Lai made the remark in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times). “China is strategically pushing forward to change the international order,” Lai said, adding that China established the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank, launched the Belt and Road Initiative, and pushed for yuan internationalization, because it wants to replace the democratic rules-based international
RELEASED: Ko emerged from a courthouse before about 700 supporters, describing his year in custody as a period of ‘suffering’ and vowed to ‘not surrender’ Former Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) was released on NT$70 million (US$2.29 million) bail yesterday, bringing an end to his year-long incommunicado detention as he awaits trial on corruption charges. Under the conditions set by the Taipei District Court on Friday, Ko must remain at a registered address, wear a GPS-enabled ankle monitor and is prohibited from leaving the country. He is also barred from contacting codefendants or witnesses. After Ko’s wife, Peggy Chen (陳佩琪), posted bail, Ko was transported from the Taipei Detention Center to the Taipei District Court at 12:20pm, where he was fitted with the tracking
RSS