The government and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday both spoke out against plans by the Chinese government to enact a national security law in Hong Kong.
Chinese officials yesterday confirmed that the National People’s Congress would review a bill “on establishing and improving the legal system and enforcement mechanisms for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region to safeguard national security.”
The Presidential Office said that the announcement was evidence that the “one country, two systems” framework fundamentally clashes with democratic freedoms.
Photo: AFP
The de-escalation of tensions between Hong Kong and Beijing relies on the Chinese government’s willingness to respond to Hong Kongers’ demands, and to establish elections for Hong Kong Legislative Council members and the chief executive, Presidential Office spokesperson Alex Huang (黃重諺) said.
Executive Yuan spokesman Ting Yi-ming (丁怡銘) quoted Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) as saying that the bill would break the Chinese Communist Party’s promise that it would guarantee Hong Kong 50 years of autonomy, seriously compromising Hong Kongers’ democratic freedoms.
Beijing’s announcement would only stoke Hong Kongers’ discontent and increase social instability, the Mainland Affairs Council said, adding that the move might undermine Hong Kong’s status as an international financial center.
Beijing cannot comprehend that the source of dissent and unrest in Hong Kong is not so-called “foreign influence” and the pro-democracy movement, which is why it is emphasizing a legislative solution to such perceived threats, it said.
The government should be the people’s protector, not their jailer, it added, calling on Beijing not to sow further chaos in Hong Kong.
The Democratic Progressive Party said that if the legislation passes, it would change Hong Kong’s fate forever.
“It is more than trampling on Hong Kong’s democratic form of government. It is telling the world that the ‘one country, two systems’ concept is dead,” the party said.
Beijing’s announcement, if carried through, would not win the hearts and minds of Hong Kongers, nor would it win Beijing any sympathy in the international community, it added.
The KMT said that Beijing should be careful, as the proposed legislation would hit a raw nerve with Hong Kongers.
Hong Kong’s autonomy, freedom of speech and freedom of assembly should be respected and upheld, it said, calling on Beijing to allow elections for Legislative Council members and the chief executive.
The Republic of China is an independent, sovereign nation and rejects the “one country, two systems” framework, the KMT added.
“Beijing’s handling of the Hong Kong situation concerns not only the fortune of Hong Kongers, but could also affect the development of the Chinese mainland area, as well as the direction of cross-strait relations,” the KMT said, calling on Beijing to constructively address Hong Kongers’ concerns and meet their expectations.
Additional reporting by Sean Lin
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
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
OVERWHELMING SUPPORT: The bill with US$2 billion in Foreign Military Financing Program funds and US$1.9 billion to replenish defense articles passed the House 385-34 Taiwan is to continue working with the US to ensure peace in the Taiwan Strait, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday after the US House of Representatives approved a US$95 billion foreign aid package with funding for Taiwan. The bills were passed with bipartisan support in a rare Saturday session after votes had been delayed for months by House Republicans. After clearing the House, the bills — containing US$8 billion for Taiwan and the Indo-Pacific region, along with US$60.8 billion for Kyiv, and US$26 billion for Israel and humanitarian aid for civilians in conflict zones — would be combined into a
The navy next month is expected to commission into service two more domestically built Tuo Chiang-class stealth missile corvettes, a source said yesterday. The Hsu Chiang (旭江, PGG-621) and the Wu Chiang (武江, PGG-623) would be officially commissioned in a ceremony early next month, the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity. The corvettes, launched in February and June last year respectively, were delivered to the navy in February. They are the third and fourth Tuo Chiang-class stealth missile corvettes to be produced. The Tuo Chiang-class corvette is a domestically designed and manufactured class of fast and stealthy multipurpose corvette built for the