Taiwan yesterday condemned China over the jailing of 45 Hong Kong activists, saying “democracy is not a crime.”
The government “strongly condemned the Chinese government’s use of judicial measures and unfair procedures to suppress the political participation and freedom of speech of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy activists,” Presidential Office spokeswoman Karen Kuo (郭雅慧) said in a statement.
International condemnation of the jailings has been swift, with the US, Australia and rights groups slamming the sentencing as evidence of the erosion of political freedoms in the territory since Beijing imposed a national security law in 2020.
Photo: I-Hwa Cheng, AFP
Yesterday’s sentencing “not only breaks the promises of ‘50 years unchanged’ and a ‘high degree of autonomy,’ but also further proves the unworkability of ‘one country, two systems,’” Kuo said, referencing the 50-year transitionary governance model after the handover from the UK in 1997.
“The people of Taiwan and Hong Kong share a common pursuit of freedom and democracy,” she said.
The Mainland Affairs Council urged the Hong Kong government to protect its citizens’ rights, cease political oppression and release detained democracy supporters.
Multiple incidents over the past few years have dealt a blow to Hong Kong’s international ratings on democracy and human rights, the council said.
The Hong Kong government should protect its people’s rights, freedom of speech and the right to an unbiased judiciary process, it said.
The Democratic Progressive Party also condemned the rulings, saying that the full-on persecution of Hong Kong’s democracy supporters highlights the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) authoritarian nature.
The forced passage of Article 23 of Hong Kong’s Basic Law and the National Security Law has destroyed Hong Kong’s democracy and human rights, and exposed the sham of “one country, two systems,” it added.
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) said it continues to support democracy and freedom, adding that the ruling was inconducive to rallying Hong Kongers’ support for the CCP government.
Nonviolent methods of expressing opinions are a norm of democratic society and should be a fundamental right of the people, the KMT said.
The Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) said it adamantly opposes such repressive authoritarianism and urged the CCP to answer international concerns regarding its conduct.
The TPP caucus in May urged the Mainland Affairs Council to flesh out ways for Hong Kongers to seek political asylum or pursue business immigration, it said, calling on the administration to support Hong Kong.
Hong Kong Outlanders, a Hong Kong support group in Taiwan, panned the ruling as illogical and symbolized the death of the concepts of the rule of law and an independent judiciary in Hong Kong.
The group urged the Taiwanese government to continue to support Hong Kong protesters and provide them with channels to conditionally seek asylum.
It also called on the Taiwanese government to promote and guarantee Hong Kongers’ basic rights in Taiwan, providing them a haven from cross-border threats from the CCP.
Additional reporting by Chen Yun, Lin Hsin-han and Lin Che-yuan
‘SECRETS’: While saying China would not attack during his presidency, Donald Trump declined to say how Washington would respond if Beijing were to take military action US President Donald Trump said that China would not take military action against Taiwan while he is president, as the Chinese leaders “know the consequences.” Trump made the statement during an interview on CBS’ 60 Minutes program that aired on Sunday, a few days after his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in South Korea. “He [Xi] has openly said, and his people have openly said at meetings, ‘we would never do anything while President Trump is president,’ because they know the consequences,” Trump said in the interview. However, he repeatedly declined to say exactly how Washington would respond in
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said yesterday that China using armed force against Taiwan could constitute a "survival-threatening situation" for Japan, allowing the country to mobilize the Japanese armed forces under its security laws. Takaichi made the remarks during a parliamentary session yesterday while responding to a question about whether a "Taiwan contingency" involving a Chinese naval blockade would qualify as a "survival-threatening situation" for Japan, according to a report by Japan’s Asahi Shimbun. "If warships are used and other armed actions are involved, I believe this could constitute a survival- threatening
WARFARE: All sectors of society should recognize, unite, and collectively resist and condemn Beijing’s cross-border suppression, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng said The number of Taiwanese detained because of legal affairs by Chinese authorities has tripled this year, as Beijing intensified its intimidation and division of Taiwanese by combining lawfare and cognitive warfare, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) made the statement in response to questions by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Puma Shen (沈柏洋) about the government’s response to counter Chinese public opinion warfare, lawfare and psychological warfare. Shen said he is also being investigated by China for promoting “Taiwanese independence.” He was referring to a report published on Tuesday last week by China’s state-run Xinhua news agency,
‘ADDITIONAL CONDITION’: Taiwan will work with like-minded countries to protect its right to participate in next year’s meeting, the foreign ministry said The US will “continue to press China for security arrangements and protocols that safeguard all participants when attending APEC meetings in China,” a US Department of State spokesperson said yesterday, after Beijing suggested that members must adhere to its “one China principle” to participate. “The United States insists on the full and equal participation of all APEC member economies — including Taiwan — consistent with APEC’s guidelines, rules and established practice, as affirmed by China in its offer to host in 2026,” the unnamed spokesperson said in response to media queries about China putting a “one China” principle condition on Taiwan’s
RSS