About 300 people took part in a demonstration in support of pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong, spelling out the words “Free Hong Kong” with their bodies in Taipei’s Central Art Park.
The event was organized by Hong Kong Outlanders, the Taiwan Youth Association for Democracy, Taiwan Association for Human Rights, Taiwan Citizen Front, Covenants Watch, the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan and several human rights groups.
In addition to the words, an image of Taiwan and one of “Raincoat Man” — honoring Marco Leung (梁凌杰), a Hong Konger who died on June 15 wearing a yellow rain poncho after falling from construction scaffolding in front of Pacific Place in the Admiralty district while hanging protest banners, were displayed.
Photo: Peter Lo, Taipei Times
The image shows that the public in Taiwan fully supports the people in Hong Kong in their pursuit of freedom, democracy and the rule of law, the organizers said.
As Hong Kong police continue to use excessive force to break up the continuing protests, and have even arrested pedestrians who were just shopping, Taiwan Association for Human Rights Secretary-General Chiu Ee-ling (邱伊翎) said the police have impeded press freedom, handled female protestors humiliatingly and arrested and pressed charges against minors.
The police have violated the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women and Convention on the Rights of the Child, she added.
A Hong Kong Outlanders representative, who identified himself as “Kuma,” said the Hong Kong government claimed that a general strike staged on Monday last week was aimed at destroying the territory’s economy by dividing the people.
“However, a stable economy should be founded on a free and democratic society. If Hong Kong loses this foundation, the assets owned by the Hong Kong people could disappear overnight. As Hong Kongers living in Taiwan, we support every citizen of Hong Kong who went on strike and walked out of classes last week, as they spoke out by taking actions against a twisted social order. They might miss a day’s work and miss a meal, but the fall of Hong Kong would be irreversible,” he said.
Hong Kongers decided to take to the streets day and night because their democratic system has been greatly eroded, and problems generated by ineffective government and an out-of-control police force cannot be addressed through the political system, he said.
Eve Lui (呂天忻), who represents Hong Kong Higher Institutions International Affairs Delegations, said Taiwan has witnessed how Hong Kong has fallen from a free and democratic state into an undemocratic one since 1997.
“Our elected legislators were being disqualified, our book publishers were kidnapped and our social activists were arrested and locked in prisons. A general election is still impossible for us, and Hong Kong is still ruled by a puppet from Beijing,” she said.
Participant Michelle Wu (吳奕柔) said that Beijing was ignoring “the Hong Kongers’ insistence that the territory maintain a free and democratic system.”
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique