Legislators yesterday vowed solid support for Hong Kong while expatriates from Hong Kong called for better mechanisms for Hong Kongers applying for residency in Taiwan at the launch of the Taiwan Parliament Group for Hong Kong.
Taiwan Hong Kong Association director-general Sang Pu (桑普) thanked the legislature for standing up for human rights, calling on Taiwanese to continue paying attention to how Beijing implements Article 23 of the Basic Law, the territory’s new national security law that took effect last week.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Huang Jie (黃捷), who chairs the group, said that the group aims to continue to support Hong Kong and to remind Taiwanese to be more vigilant against authoritarianism.
Photo: Lo Pei-de, Taipei Times
Group deputy chair DPP Legislator Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) urged the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) to assist Hong Kongers as they face harsh and arbitrary treatment that undermines freedom and human rights.
How would the Hong Kong government implement Article 23 remains to be seen, but it is possible that the territory might once again fall into turmoil, he said.
The group hopes to be the “strongest supporter” for Hong Kong, and for everyone in Taiwan and Hong Kong who is fighting for democratic values, he said.
Photo: Lo Pei-de, Taipei Times
The MAC has been adjusting related mechanisms to assist Hong Kongers, and would continue to work with government agencies and the private sector to help Hong Kongers in Taiwan integrate into Taiwanese society, MAC Deputy Minister Lee Li-jane (李麗珍) said.
Taiwan should cooperate with civic groups in drawing up and implementing preventive measures against Chinese infiltration, said Sky Fung (馮詔天), secretary-general of the Taiwan-based exile group Hong Kong Outlanders.
After Article 23 went into effect, it is foreseeable that Hong Kong protesters would face oppression, he said, calling on the government to allow these protesters to be able to relocate to Taiwan.
Separately, the Legislative Yuan yesterday launched the Republic of China-India Parliamentary Amity Association to foster deeper ties between Taiwan and India.
Taiwanese exports to India reached more than US$6 billion last year, an increase of 13 percent, as trade relations between the two nations grow closer, association chair Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lo Ting-wei (羅廷瑋) said, adding that the trend is expected to continue.
India and Taiwan have complementary strengths, with the former boasting advantages in software and the latter in hardware, India Taipei Association Deputy Director-General Dhananjay Singh Yadav said.
India’s demographic dividend could help alleviate Taiwan’s worker shortage, he added.
India is an important partner under the government’s New Southbound Policy, and is working closely with Taiwan on the economic, cultural and technology front, Lo said.
The two nations are trustworthy partners in safeguarding common values such as democracy, freedom and human rights, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Tien Chung-kwang (田中光) said.
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