The Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) yesterday proposed changing the law to provide protection for those seeking political asylum.
China at the opening of the National People’s Congress in Beijing on Thursday introduced a draft security law for Hong Kong to ban treason, subversion and sedition, with a review expected next week.
TPP caucus whip Jang Chyi-lu (張其祿) said that the party is concerned about democracy advocates in Hong Kong and has taken action to support them.
Photo: EPA-EFE
The party has proposed an amendment to Article 18 of the Act Governing Relations with Hong Kong and Macau (香港澳門關係條例), which stipulates that the government can offer help to residents of Hong Kong and Macau whose security and freedom are endangered due to political factors, Jang said.
However, the article does not clarify what “emergency” and “help” mean, nor is it clear whether people would be granted the right to stay in Taiwan, he said, adding that the Executive Yuan has not formulated supplementary regulations to protect the rights of asylum seekers or review their applications.
The TPP proposal says that people can apply for asylum if they leave Hong Kong or Macau due to war or for reasons related to race, religion, sexual orientation or political opinion, and cannot seek protection in Hong Kong or Macau, or do not want to return there for fear of persecution.
After receiving an application, authorities would convene a review meeting with experts, academics and unbiased members of the public, the TPP draft says.
At least one-third of the committee members should be members of a civic group who have experience promoting human rights, it says.
Jang urged the legislature’s Internal Administration Committee to schedule a meeting to review the draft soon, as this legislative session is to end this month.
If it is reviewed this session, there is a chance that the bill might be passed in a provisional legislative session scheduled to start next month, he said.
Jang called on the Democratic Progressive Party caucus or the Executive Yuan to propose amendments to show that Taiwan wants to help those who are targets of political persecution in Hong Kong and Macau.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Chen Yu-jen (陳玉珍), convener of the legislative committee, said that she had not received the TPP’s proposal.
If the TPP caucus shows why its proposal is important, she does not rule out changing the committee’s agenda next week and scheduling a review, Chen said.
Separately yesterday, New Power Party (NPP) Chairman Hsu Yung-ming (徐永明) said that Beijing’s proposed security law means it has renounced its promise to maintain “one country, two systems” in Hong Kong.
Taiwan cannot be indifferent to the matter, as it is a warning to Taiwan from Beijing, Hsu said.
The Legislative Yuan should review a refugee bill to complete the nation’s support for Hong Kong democracy advocates and prepare a response for refugee issues, he said.
The DPP administration should clarify its strategy and President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) should condemn Beijing’s treatment of Hong Kong, he said.
Hong Kong advocacy groups have repeatedly called on Taiwan to implement a refugee law to allow Hong Kongers to seek asylum here.
On Dec. 5 last year, Tsai said that it was unnecessary to enact a refugee law, as the Act Governing Relations with Hong Kong and Macau is adequate.
Additional reporting by Su Chin-feng
EXTRADITION DEAL? A former prosecutor said that the US Department of Justice might ask Taiwan to extradite the men in return for the US doing something in return The US won arrest warrants for three Taiwanese men — a former president of China-based Fujian Jinhua Integrated Circuit Co (福建晉華) and two engineers — charged with stealing secrets from Idaho-based Micron Technology Inc. The effort to apprehend the three men — former Fujian Jinhua president Stephen Chen (陳正坤), and Ho Chien-ting (何建廷) and Wang Yong-ming (王永銘), who work for Taiwan-based United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電) — is notable because they were charged in 2018 in the first case filed under the “China initiative” of US President Donald Trump’s administration targeting trade-secret theft, hacking and economic espionage. However, legal experts have said
There was a net reduction last year in the number of Taipei residents and this year is expected to set a 23-year high for population decline in the city, Ministry of the Interior statistics released yesterday showed. From January to last month, 18,861 more people moved out of Taipei than moved into the capital, an increase of 7,000 from the same period last year, the data showed. That is a 7.2 percent decrease in the city’s population since the start of the year, the biggest drop in both percentage and total number among all municipalities and counties nationwide, the data showed. The data
COUNCILS CLASH: The Mainland Affairs Council said a new office in Hong Kong is to assist people with issues related to investment, study and employment in Taiwan The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday denied an accusation by the Hong Kong-Taiwan Economic and Cultural Co-operation and Promotion Council that its Taiwanese counterpart in the territory was “interfering with Hong Kong’s internal affairs.” The Hong Kong council leveled the accusation after Taipei’s Taiwan-Hong Kong Economic and Cultural Co-operation Council this month announced it would establish a Taiwan-Hong Kong Services and Exchanges Office to facilitate humanitarian aid for Hong Kongers. The new office is scheduled to begin operations on Wednesday. The MAC yesterday asked the Hong Kong council to “not misinterpret” the government’s intentions. The two Taiwan-Hong Kong councils were established in 2010 to
IRRESPONSIBLE ATTITUDES? Some experts say the NHI system does not do enough to educate the public, or pay doctors to talk to patients, about healthy lifestyles While the life expectancy of Taiwanese newborns in 2018 reached 80.69 years, the number of years people spent in poor health hit a record high at 8.41 years, Ministry of Health and Welfare statistics showed on Saturday. Healthy life expectancy is calculated by a person’s life expectancy minus the time they spend in ill health, such as the loss of mobility, disabilities and chronic disease, based on medical records and calculations about the years they live with disabilities. The number of years that Taiwanese spend in poor health is increasing slowly, but steadily, rising by 0.46 years, or five-and-a-half months, between 2012
RSS