The government and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday both spoke out against plans by the Chinese government to enact a national security law in Hong Kong.
Chinese officials yesterday confirmed that the National People’s Congress would review a bill “on establishing and improving the legal system and enforcement mechanisms for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region to safeguard national security.”
The Presidential Office said that the announcement was evidence that the “one country, two systems” framework fundamentally clashes with democratic freedoms.
Photo: AFP
The de-escalation of tensions between Hong Kong and Beijing relies on the Chinese government’s willingness to respond to Hong Kongers’ demands, and to establish elections for Hong Kong Legislative Council members and the chief executive, Presidential Office spokesperson Alex Huang (黃重諺) said.
Executive Yuan spokesman Ting Yi-ming (丁怡銘) quoted Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) as saying that the bill would break the Chinese Communist Party’s promise that it would guarantee Hong Kong 50 years of autonomy, seriously compromising Hong Kongers’ democratic freedoms.
Beijing’s announcement would only stoke Hong Kongers’ discontent and increase social instability, the Mainland Affairs Council said, adding that the move might undermine Hong Kong’s status as an international financial center.
Beijing cannot comprehend that the source of dissent and unrest in Hong Kong is not so-called “foreign influence” and the pro-democracy movement, which is why it is emphasizing a legislative solution to such perceived threats, it said.
The government should be the people’s protector, not their jailer, it added, calling on Beijing not to sow further chaos in Hong Kong.
The Democratic Progressive Party said that if the legislation passes, it would change Hong Kong’s fate forever.
“It is more than trampling on Hong Kong’s democratic form of government. It is telling the world that the ‘one country, two systems’ concept is dead,” the party said.
Beijing’s announcement, if carried through, would not win the hearts and minds of Hong Kongers, nor would it win Beijing any sympathy in the international community, it added.
The KMT said that Beijing should be careful, as the proposed legislation would hit a raw nerve with Hong Kongers.
Hong Kong’s autonomy, freedom of speech and freedom of assembly should be respected and upheld, it said, calling on Beijing to allow elections for Legislative Council members and the chief executive.
The Republic of China is an independent, sovereign nation and rejects the “one country, two systems” framework, the KMT added.
“Beijing’s handling of the Hong Kong situation concerns not only the fortune of Hong Kongers, but could also affect the development of the Chinese mainland area, as well as the direction of cross-strait relations,” the KMT said, calling on Beijing to constructively address Hong Kongers’ concerns and meet their expectations.
Additional reporting by Sean Lin
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
US PUBLICATION: The results indicated a change in attitude after a 2023 survey showed 55 percent supported full-scale war to achieve unification, the report said More than half of Chinese were against the use of force to unify with Taiwan under any circumstances, a survey conducted by the Atlanta, Georgia-based Carter Center and Emory University found. The survey results, which were released on Wednesday in a report titled “Sovereignty, Security, & US-China Relations: Chinese Public Opinion,” showed that 55.1 percent of respondents agreed or somewhat agreed that “the Taiwan problem should not be resolved using force under any circumstances,” while 24.5 percent “strongly” or “somewhat” disagreed with the statement. The results indicated a change in attitude after a survey published in “Assessing Public Support for (Non)Peaceful Unification
PLUGGING HOLES: The amendments would bring the legislation in line with systems found in other countries such as Japan and the US, Legislator Chen Kuan-ting said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) has proposed amending national security legislation amid a spate of espionage cases. Potential gaps in security vetting procedures for personnel with access to sensitive information prompted him to propose the amendments, which would introduce changes to Article 14 of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), Chen said yesterday. The proposal, which aims to enhance interagency vetting procedures and reduce the risk of classified information leaks, would establish a comprehensive security clearance system in Taiwan, he said. The amendment would require character and loyalty checks for civil servants and intelligence personnel prior to
The China Coast Guard has seized control of a disputed reef near a major Philippine military outpost in the South China Sea, Beijing’s state media said, adding to longstanding territorial tensions with Manila. Beijing claims sovereignty over almost all of the South China Sea and has waved away competing assertions from other countries as well as an international ruling that its position has no legal basis. China and the Philippines have engaged in months of confrontations in the contested waters, and Manila is taking part in sweeping joint military drills with the US which Beijing has slammed as destabilizing. The Chinese coast guard
RSS