Civic groups yesterday urged the government to set up a humanitarian assistance program for Hong Kongers in need and a mechanism for those seeking political asylum.
At a rally at Liberty Square in Taipei marking the one-year anniversary of the start of a Hong Kong protest movement against a now-withdrawn extradition bill in the former British colony, representatives from the groups displayed banners that read: “Taiwan and Hong Kong are partners together, the struggle remains unfinished.”
Other banners said that the fight was “against the expansion of Chinese imperialism,” and that “Taiwan should have programs to assist Hong Kongers after China approves new national security legislation.”
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
They highlighted “police brutality against Hong Kong protesters.”
Another banner urged “help for Hong Kongers who want to immigrate to Taiwan and for those seeking political asylum.”
The secretary-general of the Hong Kong Outlanders, who gave her name as Justine, said that the situation in Hong Kong has worsened in the past year, as police are using increasingly violent tactics against protesters, while the authorities are increasing restrictions on the media and using the COVID-19 pandemic to suppress movement.
“China has pushed through legislation regarding the national anthem and other harsh measures,” Justine said. “Hong Kongers are facing China’s passage of new national security legislation for Hong Kong, which will target protesters, human right lawyers, social workers and civic groups,” she said.
“We ask that President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and the Taiwanese government support us by implementing policies to help Hong Kongers seeking to immigrate to Taiwan,” she said, adding that she thanked her Taiwanese friends for standing up for Hong Kong in this dire situation.
Taiwan Citizen Front spokesman Chiang Min-yen (江旻諺) said that he and fellow advocates were happy to hear from Tsai, who on May 27 spoke of a “humanitarian assistance action plan” for Hong Kongers.
Tsai said at the time that she had directed ministries to come up with specific legislation and funds, in collaboration with public and private entities.
Economic Democracy Union convener Lai Chung-chiang (賴中強) urged lawmakers to amend the Enforcement Rules of the Act Governing Relations With Hong Kong and Macau (香港澳門關係條例施行細則) to provide humanitarian assistance and political asylum for Hong Kongers to settle in Taiwan.
“By amending the law to clearly elucidate the regulations, those in need would know the conditions and scope for assistance and asylum in Taiwan, so they can decide whether to apply here or elsewhere,” Lai said. “This would minimize the risks involved in transborder movement.”
“The amendments would delineate legal parameters and get rid of gray areas regarding people from Hong Kong and Macau entering and exiting Taiwan,” he said. “There are bureaucrats abusing the ambiguities in the law to evade their responsibility, and even illegally obstruct or deny assistance and asylum requests.”
There has been inaction and delays regarding a response to the situation in Hong Kong, Lai said.
“It could spur criminal activities, encouraging gangsters and organized crime groups, including human traffickers who prey on people seeking help from the government, who are exploited, intimidated and exposed to violence and fraud, while government officials engage in corruption and bribe-taking,” he said.
Separately yesterday, the Mainland Affairs Council said that the government is finalizing a Hong Kong assistance action plan.
Additional reporting by Chung Li-hua
LONG FLIGHT: The jets would be flown by US pilots, with Taiwanese copilots in the two-seat F-16D variant to help familiarize them with the aircraft, the source said The US is expected to fly 10 Lockheed Martin F-16C/D Block 70/72 jets to Taiwan over the coming months to fulfill a long-awaited order of 66 aircraft, a defense official said yesterday. Word that the first batch of the jets would be delivered soon was welcome news to Taiwan, which has become concerned about delays in the delivery of US arms amid rising military tensions with China. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official said the initial tranche of the nation’s F-16s are rolling off assembly lines in the US and would be flown under their own power to Taiwan by way
CHIP WAR: The new restrictions are expected to cut off China’s access to Taiwan’s technologies, materials and equipment essential to building AI semiconductors Taiwan has blacklisted Huawei Technologies Co (華為) and Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC, 中芯), dealing another major blow to the two companies spearheading China’s efforts to develop cutting-edge artificial intelligence (AI) chip technologies. The Ministry of Economic Affairs’ International Trade Administration has included Huawei, SMIC and several of their subsidiaries in an update of its so-called strategic high-tech commodities entity list, the latest version on its Web site showed on Saturday. It did not publicly announce the change. Other entities on the list include organizations such as the Taliban and al-Qaeda, as well as companies in China, Iran and elsewhere. Local companies need
CRITICISM: It is generally accepted that the Straits Forum is a CCP ‘united front’ platform, and anyone attending should maintain Taiwan’s dignity, the council said The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday said it deeply regrets that former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) echoed the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) “one China” principle and “united front” tactics by telling the Straits Forum that Taiwanese yearn for both sides of the Taiwan Strait to move toward “peace” and “integration.” The 17th annual Straits Forum yesterday opened in Xiamen, China, and while the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) local government heads were absent for the first time in 17 years, Ma attended the forum as “former KMT chairperson” and met with Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference Chairman Wang Huning (王滬寧). Wang
CROSS-STRAIT: The MAC said it barred the Chinese officials from attending an event, because they failed to provide guarantees that Taiwan would be treated with respect The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Friday night defended its decision to bar Chinese officials and tourism representatives from attending a tourism event in Taipei next month, citing the unsafe conditions for Taiwanese in China. The Taipei International Summer Travel Expo, organized by the Taiwan Tourism Exchange Association, is to run from July 18 to 21. China’s Taiwan Affairs Office spokeswoman Zhu Fenglian (朱鳳蓮) on Friday said that representatives from China’s travel industry were excluded from the expo. The Democratic Progressive Party government is obstructing cross-strait tourism exchange in a vain attempt to ignore the mainstream support for peaceful development
RSS