Hong Kongers and Taiwanese are forming an increasingly close bond following months of pro-democracy demonstrations in Hong Kong, with more Hong Kongers viewing democracy as a good reason to settle in Taiwan.
Steven Chan, who last month was protesting in Hong Kong streets with his gas mask on, yesterday in Taipei said that he is applying to immigrate to Taiwan.
Saying that he witnessed Hong Kong police violently handling protesters, some as young as 11 or 12 years old, Chan asked: “Would they [young Hong Kongers] not continue to oppose the Beijing and Hong Kong authorities when they grow up?”
Photo: Lin Hsiao-yun, Taipei Times
“My father fled from China to Hong Kong years ago. He already knew the real face of the Chinese Communist Party,” he said, adding that while his parents worried about his involvement in the protests, they fully supported his move to Taiwan and gave him money from their savings.
Chan said that he decided to resettle in Taiwan after watching the televised news conference held by China’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office on July 29.
He did not take part in the 2014 “Umbrella movement” in Hong Kong, Chan said, because he was biking across Taiwan.
Chan added that he spent six months in Hualien, falling in love with Taiwan.
During the 2016 presidential election in Taiwan, he visited polling stations with some friends.
“Taiwan’s elections can change its own future — even if pro-China politicians are elected, they are likely to be voted out some day,” he said.
Chan expects to move to Taiwan in November and get a residence card by the end of next year, he said, adding that he has picked up some Hoklo (also known as Taiwanese) and can say “I am Taiwanese” now.
Planning to start a bed and breakfast establishment in Hualien, Chan said that he can “help other foreign visitors know Taiwan better and fall in love with the nation.”
Separately, an 18-year-old National Taiwan University freshman, who last month took part in demonstrations in Hong Kong, yesterday in Taipei said that “safeguarding Hong Kong is safeguarding Taiwan.”
Her mother fled from China to Hong Kong and then to Taiwan during China’s Cultural Revolution, the student said, asking only to be identified by her surname, Wang (王).
She harbors special feelings for Hong Kong, as her grandmother and some other relatives still live there, Wang added.
While Beijing and Hong Kong authorities keep smearing the demonstrators, calling them “rioters” for using gasoline bombs, some hawkish protesters have thrown the bombs not to attack the police, but to make the police keep their distance so that they do not arrest more protesters, she said.
Taking the train to Hong Kong International Airport on Sept. 1 for her return flight to Taiwan, transportation was backed up around the airport, Wang said.
Suddenly, a great number of police emerged as the station broadcast system announced that the station was about to shut down, she said, adding that people became very afraid and fled in all directions.
“Hong Kongers become afraid almost anywhere these days,” Wang said. “But the scariest part might be their getting used to living in fear.”
Wang urged Taiwanese to cherish their freedoms and democracy, and to support Hong Kongers by donating resources such as gas masks.
POLAM KOPITIAM CASE: Of the two people still in hospital, one has undergone a liver transplant and is improving, while the other is being evaluated for a liver transplant A fourth person has died from bongkrek acid poisoning linked to the Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Sogo Xinyi A13 Department Store, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said yesterday, as two other people remain seriously ill in hospital. The first death was reported on March 24. The man had been 39 years old and had eaten at the restaurant on March 22. As more cases of suspected food poisoning involving people who had eaten at the restaurant were reported by hospitals on March 26, the ministry and the Taipei Department of Health launched an investigation. The Food and
The long-awaited Taichung aquarium is expected to open next year after more than a decade of development. The building in Cingshui District (清水) is to feature a large ocean aquarium on the first floor, coral display area on the second floor, a jellyfish tank and Dajia River (大甲溪) basin display on the third, a river estuary display and restaurant on the fourth, and a cafe and garden on the fifth. As it is near Wuci Fishing Port (梧棲漁港), many are expecting the opening of the aquarium to bring more tourism to the harbor. Speaking at the city council on Monday, Taichung City Councilor
A fourth person has died in a food poisoning outbreak linked to the Xinyi (信義) branch of Malaysian restaurant chain Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) in Taipei, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝) said on Monday. It was the second fatality in three days, after another was announced on Saturday. The 40-year-old woman experienced multiple organ failure in the early hours on Monday, and the family decided not to undergo emergency resuscitation, Wang said. She initially showed signs of improvement after seeking medical treatment for nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, but her condition worsened due to an infection, he said. Two others who
Taiwanese should be mindful when visiting China, as Beijing in July is likely to tighten the implementation of policies on national security following the introduction of two regulations, a researcher said on Saturday. China on Friday unveiled the regulations governing the law enforcement and judicial activities of national security agencies. They would help crack down on “illegal” and “criminal” activities that Beijing considers to be endangering national security, according to reports by China’s state media. The definition of what constitutes a national security threat in China is vague, Taiwan Thinktank researcher Wu Se-chih (吳瑟致) said. The two procedural regulations are to provide Chinese