The New Power Party (NPP) yesterday held the first of two forums with pro-localization Hong Kong politicians, with party aides discussing common challenges and problems.
“We hope to use this opportunity to link together the democratic energy in Hong Kong and Taiwan,” NPP Executive Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) said. “We invited them here, because it is difficult for NPP lawmakers to gain entrance to Hong Kong.”
Huang has been denied Hong Kong visas repeatedly following his involvement in the Sunflower movement, with NPP Legislator Freddy Lim (林昶佐) most recently being denied entry in October last year.
This weekend’s forums involving the NPP and Hong Kong lawmakers Edward Yiu (姚松炎), Nathan Law (羅冠聰) and Eddie Chu (朱凱迪), along with their aides, have drawn attention due to the common roots in social movements in Taiwan and Hong Kong.
Yesterday’s forum of party aides focused on common challenges of political transition and the legacy and influence of undemocratic symbols and strictures.
“Hong Kong has freedom but is not a democracy, and its electoral system in particular seems absurd to us now. However, if we go back 30 or 40 years, Taiwan had many similar issues,” said Yang Ching-fu (楊清富), an aide to NPP Legislator Hung Tzu-yung (洪慈庸).
NPP aide Chien Chia-yu (簡嘉佑) compared the recent controversy over the wording of the Hong Kong Legislative Council’s oath to the reluctance of some pan-green politicians to sing the Republic of China national anthem.
Edward Yiu was one of several Hong Kong lawmakers who altered their oaths of office leading to legal challenges that prevented them from taking office. He appended a promise to protect Hong Kong’s institutions and to fight for full elections.
Some pan-green politicians decline to sing lyrics referring to “party” in the national anthem, citing its past as the official party song of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT).
A second forum between Hong Kong and NPP Legislators is scheduled for this morning at the Songjiang 101 International Convention Center.
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