The Taiwan Congressional Hong Kong Caucus yesterday called for self-determination and universal free elections for Hong Kong, ahead of the 20th anniversary of the handover of the former British colony to Beijing tomorrow.
“We hope to provide our friends pursuing democracy in Hong Kong with additional support, as well as hoping there can be greater cooperation as we both fight against Beijing’s intrusions on our rights and democratic governments,” New Power Party (NPP) Executive Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) said, announcing a caucus statement condemning increased Beijing oppression and saying that Hong Kong’s democracy has hit an “unprecedented low point.”
He expressed regret over the arrest of Joshua Wong (黃之鋒) and other Hong Kong democracy advocates over their occupation of the Golden Bauhinia — given to the territory by the Chinese government — to protest Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) visit for the anniversary celebrations.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
NPP caucus convener Hsu Yung-ming (徐永明) urged the Hong Kong government to be aware that “the world is watching” how it handles protests.
“The original purpose of the ‘one country, two systems’ was to use Hong Kong to convince Taiwanese that it really was possible to have ‘two systems’ within a single China, but the mess that has resulted in Hong Kong has only served to let the world see the infeasibility of ‘two systems,’” NPP Legislator Freddy Lim (林昶佐) said.
While numerous DPP legislators have joined the caucus, only NPP legislators appeared at yesterday’s news conference, continuing several public meetings with and shows of support for Hong Kong campaigners by the party.
Huang said the party has no plans for further activities to show support prior to the celebrations.
Additional reporting by Yang Chunhui
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