“Taiwan will not sit by and watch democracy, freedom and human rights be degraded in Hong Kong,” and the Cabinet has plans to offer humanitarian assistance to Hong Kongers, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said yesterday after China’s National People’s Congress passed national security legislation for the territory.
All Taiwanese — regardless of their political affiliation and whether they are in the government or private sector — have united to back Hong Kongers as well as the universal value of democracy, Tsai wrote on Facebook in Chinese.
“Taiwan has the responsibility to work with partners of the global democracy alliance to support Hong Kong and its people,” she wrote.
Photo: CNA
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) issued a statement condemning the passage of the “malignant” legislation, saying that the move represented a blatant disregard for the will of Hong Kongers and has seriously damaged the freedom, democracy and rule of law of the territory.
Earlier yesterday, MAC Minister Chen Ming-tong (陳明通) outlined government guidelines to help Hong Kongers.
A government-led, budgeted action plan is to feature interdepartmental efforts streamlined by the council and private-public collaborations, and coordinated by a state-sponsored legal person, Chen told reporters at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei.
With applications by Hong Kong residents seeking to immigrate to Taiwan rising, Tsai and Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) have said that the plan would mainly address settlement and well-being, Chen said.
At a question-and-answer session with lawmakers, Chen was asked by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Wang Mei-hui (王美惠) whether Article 60 of the Act Governing Relations with Hong Kong and Macau (香港澳門關係條例) would be invoked, which would suspend the entire act.
When and to what extent the article would be invoked depends on the implications of the legislation that Beijing has imposed on the territory, Chen said.
If the Hong Kong government has been compromised to the extent that it simply carries out Beijing’s wishes, that would be a threat to Taiwan’s national security and Taipei would no longer recognize it as a standalone “territory,” he said.
Article 18, which stipulates that the government can assist Hong Kongers whose freedoms and safety have been threatened for political reasons, would be invoked to deal with immigration applications, he said, adding that the two articles enable the government to have a “dual track” system for Hong Kong affairs.
Wang asked if the plan would be ready in a month, to which Chen replied: “Too late.”
Asked by Wang whether it would be ready in a week, Chen said that the council would do its best to complete it in that time.
Asked by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Yeh Yu-lan (葉毓蘭) whether the council would sponsor a refugee bill to deal with Hong Kong residents wanting to move to Taiwan, Chen said that the act would suffice.
Chen said that Hong Kong applicants should not be referred to as “refugees,” saying that it is a disparaging term not in the act.
Taiwan Statebuilding Party Legislator Chen Po-wei (陳柏惟) asked Chen Ming-tong how the council would act in the hypothetical cases of a Hong Kong police officer accused of assaulting protesters in the territory or the owner of a company sponsored by Beijing wanting to move to Taiwan.
The minister said that Taiwan’s security organs would take appropriate action in such scenarios.
The government should carefully check the background of every applicant from Hong Kong, and only accept those who champion freedom and democracy, and their history should not be assumed amid a rise in the number of arrivals from the territory, Chen Po-wei said, citing Tsai, who on Wednesday said that the number who moved to the nation over the past year rose by 41 percent.
The council and the National Immigration Agency should contemplate whether the investment threshold for immigrants of NT$6 million (US$199,700) should be retained or lowered, and consider whether to approve Hong Kong residents born after 1997, he said.
INVESTIGATION: The case is the latest instance of a DPP figure being implicated in an espionage network accused of allegedly leaking information to Chinese intelligence Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) member Ho Jen-chieh (何仁傑) was detained and held incommunicado yesterday on suspicion of spying for China during his tenure as assistant to then-minister of foreign affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮). The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said Ho was implicated during its investigation into alleged spying activities by former Presidential Office consultant Wu Shang-yu (吳尚雨). Prosecutors said there is reason to believe Ho breached the National Security Act (國家安全法) by leaking classified Ministry of Foreign Affairs information to Chinese intelligence. Following interrogation, prosecutors petitioned the Taipei District Court to detain Ho, citing concerns over potential collusion or tampering of evidence. The
‘FORM OF PROTEST’: The German Institute Taipei said it was ‘shocked’ to see Nazi symbolism used in connection with political aims as it condemned the incident Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), who led efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), was released on bail of NT$80,000 yesterday amid an outcry over a Nazi armband he wore to questioning the night before. Sung arrived at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office for questioning in a recall petition forgery case on Tuesday night wearing a red armband bearing a swastika, carrying a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf and giving a Nazi salute. Sung left the building at 1:15am without the armband and apparently covering the book with a coat. This is a serious international scandal and Chinese
Seventy percent of middle and elementary schools now conduct English classes entirely in English, the Ministry of Education said, as it encourages schools nationwide to adopt this practice Minister of Education (MOE) Cheng Ying-yao (鄭英耀) is scheduled to present a report on the government’s bilingual education policy to the Legislative Yuan’s Education and Culture Committee today. The report would outline strategies aimed at expanding access to education, reducing regional disparities and improving talent cultivation. Implementation of bilingual education policies has varied across local governments, occasionally drawing public criticism. For example, some schools have required teachers of non-English subjects to pass English proficiency
TRADE: The premier pledged safeguards on ‘Made in Taiwan’ labeling, anti-dumping measures and stricter export controls to strengthen its position in trade talks Products labeled “made in Taiwan” must be genuinely made in Taiwan, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday, vowing to enforce strict safeguards against “origin laundering” and initiate anti-dumping investigations to prevent China dumping its products in Taiwan. Cho made the remarks in a discussion session with representatives from industries in Kaohsiung. In response to the US government’s recent announcement of “reciprocal” tariffs on its trading partners, President William Lai (賴清德) and Cho last week began a series of consultations with industry leaders nationwide to gather feedback and address concerns. Taiwanese and US officials held a videoconference on Friday evening to discuss the
RSS