China’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) responded to Taiwan’s support for Hong Kong’s pursuit for democracy, voiced by both President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and Democratic Progressive Party Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), with a call for Taiwan to respect the “successful implementation of the one country, two systems policy.”
Both the country’s ruling party and opposition leaders commented on Beijing’s decision to rule out open elections in Hong Kong.
The president said at the weekly Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) meeting on Tuesday that democracy and rule of law are Hong Kong people’s core values, and that Taiwanese from all walks of life are concerned about and supportive of Hong Kongers’ calls for democratic elections.
He called on Hong Kong and Beijing authorities to exercise wisdom, tolerate different views and search for consensus through rational conversation and other peaceful means.
Ma said that only then could the public’s anxiety be mitigated and Beijing receive more stable support from the city.
On Facebook, Tsai called the restrictions imposed on the election that had been expected to highlight the territory’s democratic reforms “regrettable and disquieting.”
“Hong Kong is experiencing a political shock that has been rarely seen locally in the past few decades. [People might worry] that the city’s democracy and rule of law, which have been the pride of the Hong Kong people, will slowly be clouded by the shadow of the birdcage,” Tsai wrote.
She said that many young Hong Kongers came to the Legislative Yuan in March and April to show their support for the Sunflower movement, while more stood by the protesters and students via the Internet.
“Hong Kong’s destiny and future has Taiwanese nationals’ full attention and the pursuit of democracy and freedom is a value shared by both groups,” she said. “The seed of democracy never dies; it is simply buried in the soil, hibernating. And we are now witnessing, from the city’s young generation, the possibility and vibe that could induce change to Hong Kong.”
TAO spokesperson Ma Xiaoguang (馬曉光), when asked in Beijing about Taiwan’s response to the situation, said Beijing would expect Taiwan to respect Hong Kong’s political development and the successful implementation of the “one country, two systems” policy.
He stressed that it “would not help win people’s hearts” when “a minority of people” tried to make an issue of it to “tarnish the one country, two systems policy, damage Hong Kong’s stability and prosperity and hamper the development of the cross-strait relationship.”
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
A magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 2:23pm today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was 5.4 kilometers northeast of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 34.9 km, according to the CWA. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was the highest in Hualien County, where it measured 2 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 1 in Yilan county, Taichung, Nantou County, Changhua County and Yunlin County, the CWA said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
President William Lai (賴清德) has appointed former vice president Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) to attend the late Pope Francis’ funeral at the Vatican City on Saturday on his behalf, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today. The Holy See announced Francis’ funeral would take place on Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square. The ministry expressed condolences over Francis’ passing and said that Chen would represent Taiwan at the funeral and offer condolences in person. Taiwan and the Vatican have a long-standing and close diplomatic relationship, the ministry said. Both sides agreed to have Chen represent Taiwan at the funeral, given his Catholic identity and
RSS