Nearly 20 years after Hong Kong’s handover to China, very few Hong Kongers identify with China, Mainland Affairs Council Deputy Minister Chang Tien-chin (張天欽) said in Taipei yesterday.
Chang made the remark in his opening speech at a seminar titled “Hong Kong — 20 years after the handover and relations with Taiwan.”
The Friends of Hong Kong and Macau Association was commissioned by the council to host the seminar ahead of the 20th anniversary of the transfer of Hong Kong to China on Saturday next week.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
Chang attributed the lack of identification with China due to Beijing’s suppression of the universal values shared by Taiwan and Hong Kong, namely democracy, liberal thought, human rights and the rule of law.
Chinese oppression in Hong Kong has caused its press freedom rating to drop and the “831 Decision” has sought to prevent its autonomy and increase Beijing’s hold on Hong Kong, he said.
The “831 Decision” was a decision made by the Standing Committee of the Chinese National People’s Congress on Aug. 31 2014, which set the limits for last year’s legislative council election and this year’s chief executive election in Hong Kong.
The Causeway Bay Books (銅鑼灣圖書) incidents further increased the doubts of the international community on whether the basic rights and safety of Hong Kongers would be guaranteed under Chinese rule, Chang said, referring to the incidents between October and December 2015 that saw five shareholders, co-owners or employees of Causeway Bay Books, including Lam Wing-kei (林榮基), go missing in Hong Kong.
Lam reappeared in July last year and publicly accused Beijing of kidnapping him as a way to intimidate the bookstore, which sells books banned in China.
Citing the latest Hong Kong University poll, Chang said that only 3.1 percent of Hong Kongers aged between 18 and 29 consider themselves to be Chinese in a general sense.
China should reflect on how it has failed to increase the identification with China of Hong Kongers in the 20 years since the territory was returned, Chang said.
Such a failure cannot simply be explained by stating that Hong Kong is “not allowed to resist central [government] authority under the name of greater autonomy,” Chang said.
Taiwan and Hong Kong share intimate ties on all levels and despite the slight impact after the change of government last year, Taiwan-Hong Kong interaction would help create a better future for both, Chang said.
He called on the Hong Kong Government to shun conservatism and adopt active and practical attitudes to help Taiwan-Hong Kong relations move toward a healthier and more positive state.
Chang also called on China to honor its promise made to Hong Kong during the handover in 1997 that the territory would retain a high degree of autonomy.
By listening and responding to Hong Kong’s call for a democratic system, China would live up to its promise to both Hong Kong and the international community, and only in this way can Hong Kong maintain stable development, Chang said.
FAST TRACK? Chinese spouses must renounce their Chinese citizenship and pledge allegiance to Taiwan to gain citizenship, some demonstrators said Opponents and supporters of a bill that would allow Chinese spouses to obtain Taiwanese citizenship in four years instead of six staged protests near the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday morning. Those who oppose the bill proposed by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) demanded that Chinese spouses be granted citizenship only after renouncing their Chinese citizenship, passing a citizenship test and pledging allegiance to Taiwan. The demonstrators, who were protesting at a side entrance to the Legislative Yuan on Jinan Road, were mostly members of the Taiwan Association of University Professors and other organizations advocating Taiwanese independence. Supporters of the bill, led
SILENT MAJORITY: Only 1 percent of Chinese rejected all options but war to annex Taiwan, while one-third viewed war as unacceptable, a university study showed Many Chinese are more concerned with developments inside their country than with seeking unification with Taiwan, al-Jazeera reported on Friday. Although China claims Taiwan as its own territory and has vowed to annex it, by force if necessary, 23-year-old Chinese Shao Hongtian was quoted by al-Jazeera as saying that “hostilities are not the way to bring China and Taiwan together.” “I want unification to happen peacefully,” Shao said. Al-Jazeera said it changed Shao’s name to respect his wish for anonymity. If peaceful unification is not possible, Shao said he would prefer “things to remain as they are,” adding that many of his friends feel
Taiwan has “absolute air superiority” over China in its own airspace, Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) told a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee on Monday, amid concern over whether Taipei could defend itself against a military incursion by Beijing. Po made the remarks in response to a question from Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chiu Chih-wei (邱志偉) on whether Taiwan would have partial or complete air superiority if Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) warplanes were to enter Taiwan’s airspace. Po, a retired pilot, said that the Taiwanese military has “absolute air superiority” over PLA
A shipment of basil pesto imported by Costco Wholesale Taiwan from the US in the middle of last month was intercepted at the border after testing positive for excessive pesticide residue, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. Samples taken from a shipment of the Kirkland Signature brand of basil pesto imported by Costco contained 0.1 milligrams per kilogram of ethylene oxide, exceeding the non-detectable limit. Ethylene oxide is a carcinogenic substance that can be used as a pesticide. The 674kg shipment of basil pesto would either be destroyed or returned to its country of origin, as is the procedure for all