Hong Kong’s government should immediately release all the pro-democracy protesters it has arrested and stop arresting people for alleged contraventions of the territory’s new National Security Law, representatives from nearly a dozen civic groups, including the New School For Democracy and Amnesty International Taiwan, said in Taipei yesterday, as they urged changes to the Act Governing Relations with Hong Kong and Macau (香港澳門關係條例).
“The government in Taiwan should also quickly stipulate the rules of enforcement under Article 18 of the act, which would ensure that Taiwan’s humanitarian aid for Hong Kongers is administered on a legal basis, rather than the goodwill of the president and the ruling party,” the representatives told a news conference as they announced several petitions aimed at Taiwan’s government and Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam’s (林鄭月娥) administration.
Their appeal came one day after Jimmy Lai (黎智英), two of his sons and four executives of his Next Digital (壹傳媒) group were arrested for contravening the territory’s new legislation, as well as high-profile democracy advocate Agnes Chow (周庭) and two other young activists, who were accused of trying to incite others to split China.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
“The government should review the rules governing the management of the investments from Hong Kong and ban the police and government officials from the Chinese territory from entering the country. This would safeguard Taiwan’s democratic system by preventing “red capital” from infiltrating the nation,” the civic groups said.
“Taiwan and international society should continue monitoring the political situation in Hong Kong and ask the Chinese regime to abide by its legal obligations as stated in the Sino-British Joint Declaration on Hong Kong. Taiwan’s government should coordinate with officials in other nations in imposing sanctions against China, as well as preparing for the arrival of more migrants from Hong Kong,” they said.
New School For Democracy chairman Tseng Chien-yuan (曾建元) said that Hong Kong’s new security legislation authorizes police to arrest people and conduct raids on civilians’ properties without having to secure warrants from a court.
“We have to see if Lai, whose arrest drew worldwide attention, will be extradited to China to stand trial there,” he said. “The US should consider applying the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act to impose sanctions against senior Chinese officials, freeze their overseas assets and ban them from entering the US.”
Lai was accused of colluding with foreign influences, such as non-governmental organizations in the US like the National Endowment for Democracy, which have been interacting closely with democracy advocates in Hong Kong, and Taiwan, where Lai publishes a local version of the Apple Daily and is working with civic groups, Tseng said.
Under the new Hong Kong law, organizations and individuals closely associated with suspects would be considered accomplices if they refuse to provide requested evidence, and could be sentenced to two years in prison, he said.
Writer Thumper, who has been a columnist for the Apple Daily in Hong Kong, said that Lai does not have any qualms about facing the threat from the Chinese regime.
Lai had frequently said that he would not leave Hong Kong or his employees behind, Thumper said.
Hong Kongers yesterday buying more copies of the Apple Daily and shares in Lai’s company show that they are undaunted in the face of tyranny, he said.
Association for Human Rights secretary-general Shih Yi-hsiang (施逸翔) said the arrests of Lai and other media personnel has sounded the death knell for the freedom of the press and speech in Hong Kong, and people in Taiwan should support them with concrete actions.
The Hong Kong Immigrant Department has reportedly established a national security team specifically to handle visa applications from foreign correspondents and members of Taiwanese civic group, as it categorized them as sensitive cases, Amnesty International Taiwan executive director Chiu Ee-ling (邱伊翎) said.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Hung Sun-han (洪申翰), who is deputy chairman of Taiwan Parliament Group for Hong Kong, said that Beijing and the Hong Kong government not only aimed to destroy the freedom of the press with Lai’s arrest, but they also wanted to vent their anger and frustration at Hong Kongers over the mounting international sanctions that they face.
“Lawmakers and the government should jointly consider how we can help them cope with an inhumane regime. The fates of Taiwanese and Hong Kongers are connected, and we must not let them hang out to dry,” Hung said.
Separately, Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) said the Hong Kong government’s detention of Lai and Chow highlighted its disregard for human rights and press freedom.
Taiwan’s freedom and human rights are in line with universal values, while China has incurred international condemnation for its abuse of those rights, Su said.
Taiwanese should view the Hong Kong police’s detention of dissidents as a warning that they would be sitting ducks, with the freedom and democracy they hold dear eradicated, if the nation is forced to unify with China, he added.
Meanwhile, National Human Rights Commission Chairwoman Chen Chu (陳菊) said on Facebook that the arrests of Lai and Chow showed that the rule of law that the Hong Kong government once took pride in has been completely lost.
Taiwanese regret that the “one country, two systems” promise that the Chinese Communist Party made Hong Kongers has become a lie and they condemn Beijing’s trampling of human rights and press freedom by forcing through national security legislation for the territory, she wrote.
Taiwanese will stand by Hong Kongers in defending their common shared values of democracy, freedom and human rights, she said.
Additional reporting by Sean Lin
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