A coalition of civic groups yesterday unveiled their proposals to amend the Act Governing Relations With Hong Kong and Macau (香港澳門關係條例) to flesh out rules for vetting Hong Kongers seeking asylum, as they marked the first anniversary of the start of a campaign against a now-retracted extradition bill in the territory.
The proposals were drafted by several groups in the wake of President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) announcement of an action plan to offer humanitarian assistance to Hong Kongers, Economic Democracy Union convener Lai Chung-chiang (賴中強) told a news conference in front of the Presidential Office Building in Taipei, adding that they are aimed at complementing Article 18 of the act.
The article only states that the Mainland Affairs Council may provide Hong Kong residents whose safety and freedom have been threatened for political reasons with assistance if necessary, without specifying the types of assistance or what conditions asylum seekers must meet.
Photo: CNA
The proposals seek to provide applicants with the right to seek judicial remedy if their applications are rejected by the council, and create a review panel with at least one-third of its staff comprising academics and experts from the public, Lai said.
A draft provision states that in the event that a Hong Konger must be deported, the authorities should respect their choice of destination and must not repatriate them to Hong Kong against their will, he said.
The proposals seek to mandate the Ministry of the Interior to provide accommodation, healthcare and legal assistance to Hong Kongers while their application for asylum is under review, Taiwan Association for Human Rights advocate Lin Shu-han (林姝函) said.
The ministry may enlist civic groups to offer the aforementioned assistance, in which case an interdepartmental task force should be created to follow up on the progress, she added.
The “corrupt” Hong Kong police has violently cracked down on protesters, arrested more than 8,000 of them and indicted more than 1,500, a year after the first protest against the bill was staged, Hong Kong Outlanders chairman Kuma Yung said.
The situation in Hong Kong remains dire as the Chinese National People’s Congress seeks to push through a national security bill for Hong Kong, and pro-establishment members of the Hong Kong Legislative Council have arbitrarily passed a national anthem law, which stipulates a prison term of up to three years or a fine of up to HK$50,000 (US$6,452) for people who alter the lyrics or melody of China’s national anthem or render it in a disparaging tone, Yung said.
However, Hong Kong protesters refuse to sing praise of Chinese autocracy in the face of Beijing’s “expansionist imperialism,” which has triggered a “new cold war” between the East and the West, and affected nations globally, he said.
People used to describe Hong Kong, a former British colony, as a “borrowed place living on borrowed time,” but today, Hong Kongers’ desire for self-determination is just as strong as that of any aspiring race, and would only be further stoked by agony and distress, Yung said.
He announced a rally on Saturday at Liberty Square in Taipei in support of the pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong, and called on lawmakers to participate in the event to express solidarity with Hong Kong protesters, especially those who have joined the Taiwan Parliament Group for Hong Kong (台灣國會友好香港連線) created last month by independent Legislator Freddy Lim (林昶佐).
The news conference was also attended by members of the Green Citizens’ Action Alliance, New School For Democracy, Covenants Watch, the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan, and the Human Rights Network for Tibet and Taiwan, among others.
TRAFFIC SAFETY RULES: A positive result in a drug test would result in a two-year license suspension for the driver and vehicle, and a fine of up to NT$180,000 The Ministry of Transportation and Communications is to authorize police to conduct roadside saliva tests by the end of the year to deter people from driving while under the influence of narcotics, it said yesterday. The ministry last month unveiled a draft of amended regulations governing traffic safety rules and penalties, which included provisions empowering police to conduct mandatory saliva tests on drivers. While currently rules authorize police to use oral fluid testing kits for signs of drug use, they do not establish penalties for noncompliance or operating procedures for officers to follow, the ministry said. The proposed changes to the regulations require
The Executive Yuan yesterday announced that registration for a one-time universal NT$10,000 cash handout to help people in Taiwan survive US tariffs and inflation would start on Nov. 5, with payouts available as early as Nov. 12. Who is eligible for the handout? Registered Taiwanese nationals are eligible, including those born in Taiwan before April 30 next year with a birth certificate. Non-registered nationals with residence permits, foreign permanent residents and foreign spouses of Taiwanese citizens with residence permits also qualify for the handouts. For people who meet the eligibility requirements, but passed away between yesterday and April 30 next year, surviving family members
Taiwanese officials are courting podcasters and influencers aligned with US President Donald Trump as they grow more worried the US leader could undermine Taiwanese interests in talks with China, people familiar with the matter said. Trump has said Taiwan would likely be on the agenda when he is expected to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) next week in a bid to resolve persistent trade tensions. China has asked the White House to officially declare it “opposes” Taiwanese independence, Bloomberg reported last month, a concession that would mark a major diplomatic win for Beijing. President William Lai (賴清德) and his top officials
The German city of Hamburg on Oct. 14 named a bridge “Kaohsiung-Brucke” after the Taiwanese city of Kaohsiung. The footbridge, formerly known as F566, is to the east of the Speicherstadt, the world’s largest warehouse district, and connects the Dar-es-Salaam-Platz to the Brooktorpromenade near the Port of Hamburg on the Elbe River. Timo Fischer, a Free Democratic Party member of the Hamburg-Mitte District Assembly, in May last year proposed the name change with support from members of the Social Democratic Party and the Christian Democratic Union. Kaohsiung and Hamburg in 1999 inked a sister city agreement, but despite more than a quarter-century of
RSS