Following an uneventful arrival in Taiwan on Saturday night, Hong Kong democracy campaigner Joshua Wong (黃之鋒) yesterday spoke to a group of Taiwanese students in Taipei about his involvement in the territory’s struggle for self-determination.
Wong was escorted by police at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport after disembarking, and his speech was marked by a heavy police presence, although there was no protest of any kind.
Wong and three Hong Kong lawmakers, Edward Yiu (姚松炎), Nathan Law (羅冠聰) and Eddie Chu (朱凱迪), were confronted by a group of pro-unification protesters on their arrival at Taoyuan Airport on Jan. 7, with protesters attempting to break a police cordon to attack the four, who were invited to participate in forums organized by the New Power Party.
Photo: Chu Pei-hsiung, Taipei Times
Wong said he was more confident in the Taiwanese police force’s investigation efficiency than in their Hong Kong counterparts.
Only four people were arrested for attacking Law at Hong Kong International Airport on Sunday last week, while 13 people were arrested in Taiwan for attempting to attack Wong and the three pro-localization lawmakers, he said.
Wong said he had not taken any special measures to prevent more conflict with protesters and had only asked the event organizer to attend to his safety.
The event — organized by a think tank affiliated with the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) — was to familiarize college students with cross-strait political and economic interactions.
Wong and DPP Department of Youth Development director Huang Shou-ta (黃守達) held a discussion about democratic development in Taiwan and Hong Kong.
Wong told dozens of students how “Chinese factors” influenced Hong Kong politics and about his participation in the movement against a pro-China national education scheme in 2012, the “Umbrella movement” in 2014 and the Hong Kong legislative election last year.
“I hope Hong Kong and Taiwan, both subject to the suppression and interference of Beijing, can seek more interactions especially in terms of the political participation of young people,” Wong said.
“It is my first time speaking to a group of students and assistants to lawmakers in Taiwan. I hope I can engage people other than lawmakers and political leaders in Taiwan in the future, including college students of my own age,” he said.
Such interaction is common between democratic societies, Wong said, adding that he would continue to attend similar events.
He said his trip to Taiwan was also to familiarize young Taiwanese with the plight faced by three other Hong Kong lawmakers and himself.
The four might be deprived of their seats in the territory’s Legislative Council for altering their oaths during the swearing-in ceremony, he said, adding that their fate hinges on a court verdict expected next month.
The four could be asked to pay legal expenses of up to HK$10 million (US$1.29 million) should they be disqualified, he said.
“Taiwanese who support democracy and human rights hopefully pay attention to events in Hong Kong,” he said.
Beijing’s continued provocations in the Taiwan Strait reveal its intention to unilaterally change the “status quo” in the area, the US Department of State said on Saturday, calling for a peaceful resolution to cross-strait issues. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) reported that four China Coast Guard patrol vessels entered restricted and prohibited waters near Kinmen County on Friday and again on Saturday. A State Department spokesperson said that Washington was aware of the incidents, and urged all parties to exercise restraint and refrain from unilaterally changing the “status quo.” “Maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is in line with our [the
EXTENDED RANGE: Hsiung Sheng missiles, 100 of which might be deployed by the end of the year, could reach Chinese command posts and airport runways, a source said A NT$16.9 billion (US$534.93 million) project to upgrade the military’s missile defense systems would be completed this year, allowing the deployment of at least 100 long-range Hsiung Sheng missiles and providing more deterrence against China, military sources said on Saturday. Hsiung Sheng missiles are an extended-range version of the Hsiung Feng IIE (HF-2E) surface-to-surface cruise missile, and are believed to have a range of up to 1,200km, which would allow them to hit targets well inside China. They went into mass production in 2022, the sources said. The project is part of a special budget for the Ministry of National Defense aimed at
READY TO WORK: Taiwan is eager to cooperate and is hopeful that like-minded states will continue to advocate for its inclusion in regional organizations, Lai said Maintaining the “status quo” in the Taiwan Strait, and peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region must be a top priority, president-elect William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday after meeting with a delegation of US academics. Leaders of the G7, US President Joe Biden and other international heads of state have voiced concerns about the situation in the Strait, as stability in the region is necessary for a safe, peaceful and prosperous world, Lai said. The vice president, who is to be inaugurated in May, welcomed the delegation and thanked them for their support for Taiwan and issues concerning the Strait. The international community
COOPERATION: Two crewmembers from a Chinese fishing boat that sank off Kinmen were rescued, two were found dead and another two were still missing at press time The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) was yesterday working with Chinese rescuers to find two missing crewmembers from a Chinese fishing boat that sank southwest of Kinmen County yesterday, killing two crew. The joint operation managed to rescue two of the boat’s six crewmembers, but two were already dead when they were pulled from the water, the agency said in a statement. Rescuers are still searching for two others from the Min Long Yu 61222, a boat registered in China’s Fujian Province that capsized and sank 1.03 nautical miles (1.9km) southwest of Dongding Island (東碇), it added. CGA Director-General Chou Mei-wu (周美伍) told a