Chinese tourists allegedly interrupted a protest in Taipei on Tuesday held by Hong Kongers, knocked down several flags and shouted: “Taiwan and Hong Kong belong to China.”
Hong Kong democracy activists were holding a demonstration as Tuesday was China’s National Day.
A video posted online by civic group Hong Kong Outlanders shows a couple, who are allegedly Chinese, during the demonstration.
Photo: screen grab from Radio Free Asia’s X account
“Today is China’s National Day, and I won’t allow the displaying of these flags,” the male yells in the video before pushing some demonstrators and knocking down a few flagpoles.
Radio Free Asia reported that some of the demonstrators confronted the couple, warning the man about his behavior.
“Today is to commemorate Hong Kong’s martyrs. We do not celebrate China’s National Day,” it quoted a demonstrator as saying. “We are in Taiwan, and people are free to express their opinion.”
Taiwanese independence advocate Lee Wen-pin (李文賓) and the man reportedly pushed and slapped each other.
“You cannot touch other people’s belongings... We are asking you to leave now,” Lee said, before he called the police.
The man refused to leave and kept saying that “China has sovereignty over Taiwan,” and that “Taiwan and Hong Kong belong to China.”
“Taiwan belongs to Taiwanese, and Hong Kong belongs to Hong Kongers,” the demonstrators said in response.
Later, police officers arrived at the scene and persuaded the couple to leave.
After they left the demonstration continued, joined by activists supporting freedom and democracy in Hong Kong, Tibet, Xinjiang and Southern Mongolia, and Taiwanese independence supporters.
“This should not happen in a free, democratic country. You can speak your mind if you disagree with our views, but he just barged in and started to knock down things and break them,” an event organizer who goes by the name Fu Tong (赴湯) said. “He can return to China if he believes it is fine to live without freedom, but he must not come to Taiwan and try to sabotage our freedom and democracy.”
“This incident showed that Chinese ‘little pinks’ are everywhere, trying to suppress contrary views,” Hong Kong artist Kacey Wong (黃國才) said. “But it is quite unacceptable to see that when the police arrived, the Chinese couple kept shouting that ‘Taiwan belongs to China.’ Taiwanese and Hong Kong exiles must not tolerate this kind of action.”
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Wang Ting-yu (王定宇) yesterday said the couple contravened the Criminal Code’s sections on “offenses against freedom of another person.”
“Therefore, I demand Taipei police crack down on this violation. The couple should be prosecuted,” Wang said. “We must take action to deal with the delusion of some Chinese who believe they have jurisdiction over Taiwan.”
Separately, DPP Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) criticized what she called the police officers’ inaction and allowing the couple to just walk away.
“This would encourage Chinese visitors to ignore Taiwan’s police and legal authorities. It is wrong,” she said.
“These people made provocative attempts against Taiwan’s democracy and rule of law, and contravened the Criminal Code,” she said. “Taipei police must investigate this incident and prosecute the offenders.”
“China is preparing to invade Taiwan,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) said in an exclusive interview with British media channel Sky News for a special report titled, “Is Taiwan ready for a Chinese invasion?” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today in a statement. The 25-minute-long special report by Helen Ann-Smith released yesterday saw Sky News travel to Penghu, Taoyuan and Taipei to discuss the possibility of a Chinese invasion and how Taiwan is preparing for an attack. The film observed emergency response drills, interviewed baseball fans at the Taipei Dome on their views of US President
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a "tsunami watch" alert after a magnitude 8.7 earthquake struck off the Kamchatka Peninsula in northeastern Russia earlier in the morning. The quake struck off the east coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula at 7:25am (Taiwan time) at a depth of about 19km, the CWA said, citing figures from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. The CWA's Seismological Center said preliminary assessments indicate that a tsunami could reach Taiwan's coastal areas by 1:18pm today. The CWA urged residents along the coast to stay alert and take necessary precautions as waves as high as 1m could hit the southeastern
The National Museum of Taiwan Literature is next month to hold an exhibition in Osaka, Japan, showcasing the rich and unique history of Taiwanese folklore and literature. The exhibition, which is to run from Aug. 10 to Aug. 20 at the city’s Central Public Hall, is part of the “We Taiwan” at Expo 2025 series, highlighting Taiwan’s cultural ties with the international community, National Museum of Taiwan Literature director Chen Ying-fang (陳瑩芳) said. Folklore and literature, among Taiwan’s richest cultural heritages, naturally deserve a central place in the global dialogue, Chen said. Taiwan’s folklore would be immediately apparent at the entrance of the
ECONOMIC BENEFITS: The imports from Belize would replace those from Honduras, whose shrimp exports have dropped 67 percent since cutting ties in 2023 Maintaining ties with Taiwan has economic benefits, Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials said yesterday, citing the approval of frozen whiteleg shrimp imports from Belize by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as an example. The FDA on Wednesday approved the tariff-free imports from Belize after the whiteleg shrimp passed the Systematic Inspection of Imported Food, which would continue to boost mutual trade, the ministry said. Taiwan’s annual consumption of whiteleg shrimps stands at 30,000 tonnes, far exceeding domestic production, the ministry said. Taiwan used to fill the gap by importing shrimps from Honduras, but purchases slumped after Tegucigalpa severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan
RSS