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.
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck off the coast of Hualien County in eastern Taiwan at 7pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter of the temblor was at sea, about 69.9km south of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 30.9km, it said. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake’s intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County’s Changbin Township (長濱), where it measured 5 on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 4 in Hualien, Nantou, Chiayi, Yunlin, Changhua and Miaoli counties, as well as
Credit departments of farmers’ and fishers’ associations blocked a total of more than NT$180 million (US$6.01 million) from being lost to scams last year, National Police Agency (NPA) data showed. The Agricultural Finance Agency (AFA) said last week that staff of farmers’ and fishers’ associations’ credit departments are required to implement fraud prevention measures when they serve clients at the counter. They would ask clients about personal financial management activities whenever they suspect there might be a fraud situation, and would immediately report the incident to local authorities, which would send police officers to the site to help, it said. NPA data showed
ENERGY RESILIENCE: Although Alaska is open for investments, Taiwan is sourcing its gas from the Middle East, and the sea routes carry risks, Ho Cheng-hui said US government officials’ high-profile reception of a Taiwanese representative at the Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference indicated the emergence of an Indo-Pacific energy resilience alliance, an academic said. Presidential Office Secretary-General Pan Men-an (潘孟安) attended the conference in Alaska on Thursday last week at the invitation of the US government. Pan visited oil and gas facilities with senior US officials, including US Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy and US Senator Daniel Sullivan. Pan attending the conference on behalf of President William Lai (賴清德) shows a significant elevation in diplomatic representation,
The Taipei MRT is to begin accepting mobile payment services in the fall, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp said on Saturday. When the company finishes the installation of new payment units at ticketing gates in October, MRT passengers can use credit cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay, the operator said. In addition, the MRT would also provide QR payment codes — which would be compatible with Line Pay, Jkopay, iPass Money, PXPay Plus, EasyWallet, iCash Pay, Taiwan Pay and Taishin Pay — to access the railway system. Currently, passengers can access the Taipei MRT by buying a single-journey token or using EasyCard,
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