Taiwan yesterday condemned the arrests of seven democracy advocates in Hong Kong, including tycoon Jimmy Lai (黎智英), calling them “regrettable” and “gravely harmful to Hong Kong’s freedom of the press, human rights and democracy.”
“Hong Kong authorities should rid their city of controversy, not rid it of people. Only through sincere dialogue with Hong Kong people can the city’s problems be solved,” Presidential Office spokesman Xavier Chang (張惇涵) said.
Taiwan would continue to stand with the people of Hong Kong and support democracy in the territory, which is a universal value, he said.
Photo: Bloomberg
The Mainland Affairs Council criticized the national security legislation that Beijing imposed on the territory as the suppression of human rights, and characterized it as a clear purge of its administration and the expansion of Beijing’s hegemony.
This type of action would only lead to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) putting itself further at odds with Hong Kongers, and tarnish the international image of China and Hong Kong, it said.
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) denounced law enforcement authorities in the territory for imposing a “red terror” under the guise of the National Security Law.
Police are arresting people on trumped-up charges, which only serves to earn them contempt, the DPP said.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) voiced regret over the arrests, saying that freedom of the press is the basis for democracy and rule of law, and the Hong Kong government’s latest actions have destroyed the public’s trust in it.
The KMT supports Hong Kongers’ struggle for democracy and rule of law, Chiang said.
While the Taiwan Statebuilding Party cautioned Taiwanese to avoid travel to Hong Kong, given the CCP’s power to directly intervene in local affairs through use of the new legislation, the New Power Party (NPP) urged the council to quickly explain whether Taiwanese could be arrested while transiting at the Hong Kong International Airport if they are deemed to have contravened the new legislation.
“The law applies to an excessively broad range of issues, which could affect Taiwanese and lead them to be arrested. Some experts have even warned that Taiwanese might be arrested if they board flights of Hong Kong-based carriers or transfer flights in Hong Kong,” the NPP said in a statement. “The Mainland Affairs Council and other relevant agencies should explain to the public whether this is true.”
By arresting democracy advocates and raiding Next Digital’s (壹傳媒) headquarters, Beijing aims to force the media in Hong Kong and Taiwan to censor themselves, the NPP added.
The government should take action and stop the chilling actions from affecting Taiwan, it said.
Additional reporting by Lu Yin-hsuan, Yang Chun-hui and Wang Jung-hsiang
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon yesterday morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan from tomorrow to Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was approximately 950km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, the CWA said. It is expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, it said. The agency said it could issue a sea warning in the early hours of today and a land warning in the afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving at
UPDATED FORECAST: The warning covered areas of Pingtung County and Hengchun Peninsula, while a sea warning covering the southern Taiwan Strait was amended The Central Weather Administration (CWA) at 5:30pm yesterday issued a land warning for Typhoon Usagi as the storm approached Taiwan from the south after passing over the Philippines. As of 5pm, Usagi was 420km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, with an average radius of 150km, the CWA said. The land warning covered areas of Pingtung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春), and came with an amended sea warning, updating a warning issued yesterday morning to cover the southern part of the Taiwan Strait. No local governments had announced any class or office closures as of press time last night. The typhoon
DISCONTENT: The CCP finds positive content about the lives of the Chinese living in Taiwan threatening, as such video could upset people in China, an expert said Chinese spouses of Taiwanese who make videos about their lives in Taiwan have been facing online threats from people in China, a source said yesterday. Some young Chinese spouses of Taiwanese make videos about their lives in Taiwan, often speaking favorably about their living conditions in the nation compared with those in China, the source said. However, the videos have caught the attention of Chinese officials, causing the spouses to come under attack by Beijing’s cyberarmy, they said. “People have been messing with the YouTube channels of these Chinese spouses and have been harassing their family members back in China,”
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said there are four weather systems in the western Pacific, with one likely to strengthen into a tropical storm and pose a threat to Taiwan. The nascent tropical storm would be named Usagi and would be the fourth storm in the western Pacific at the moment, along with Typhoon Yinxing and tropical storms Toraji and Manyi, the CWA said. It would be the first time that four tropical cyclones exist simultaneously in November, it added. Records from the meteorology agency showed that three tropical cyclones existed concurrently in January in 1968, 1991 and 1992.
RSS