A legal mechanism would have to be put in place to grant political asylum to Hong Kong bookseller Lam Wing-kei (林榮基) if he applies for it, Minister of the Interior Yeh Jiunn-rong (葉俊榮) said on Wednesday.
Yeh made the remarks during a legislative session in response to a question by Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chuang Jui-hsiung (莊瑞雄) on what the ministry would do if Lam applied for political asylum in Taiwan, which does not have a law on asylum seekers.
Yeh said that if Lam wanted to enter the nation for purposes other than tourism, a mechanism would have be established so that the government could handle the matter in accordance with the law.
The National Immigration Agency said that Article 18 of the Act Governing Relations with Hong Kong and Macau (香港澳門關係條例), stating “necessary assistance shall be provided to Hong Kong or Macau residents whose safety and liberty are immediately threatened for political reasons,” can be invoked when Hong Kongers seek political asylum, adding that regulations for their application for residence are also available.
In a telephone interview on the Public Television Service on Tuesday night, Lam said that if he were to seek political asylum, he would choose Taiwan, because he trusts a popularly elected government.
Lam had been detained in China for about eight months, in what he said was an abduction by Chinese agents in October last year.
He was allowed to return to Hong Kong last week on the condition he bring back a hard drive containing a list of the shop’s clients, including many mail-order customers in China.
However, he changed his mind at the last minute and instead spoke publicly about his ordeal.
On Saturday, Lam said he was detained after crossing Hong Kong’s border with China, blindfolded for a 13-hour train ride to a city near Shanghai and confined in a small room, where he was kept under surveillance and interrogated.
“Hong Kongers will not bow down to brute force,” he said.
He is one of five Hong Kong booksellers who mysteriously disappeared last year, prompting concerns that they had been abducted by Chinese authorities.
The five men worked at Causeway Bay Books publishing house that published books critical of the Chinese Communist Party elite.
The Mainland Affairs Council, when asked about Lam’s case, said that Beijing should abide by what it has promised to Hong Kong within the “one country, two systems” framework and maintain the rule of law in the territory while protecting Hong Kongers’ freedom and human rights.
It also called on Chinese authorities to make public the facts about the publishers’ disappearance.
Additional Reporting by Hsiao Ting-fang and Lin Liang-sheng
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