Nearly 11,000 Hong Kongers moved to Taiwan last year — almost double the number reported a year earlier — after Beijing imposed a sweeping national security law on the territory.
Taiwan has long attracted Hong Kongers seeking an alternative to their territory’s frenetic pace and sky-high rents.
However, the legislation implemented in June last year has accelerated an exodus, and the number of Hong Kongers granted short-term residency soared to 10,813 from 5,858 in 2019, according to National Immigration Agency data.
Photo: Kaohsiung City Government Bureau of Cultural Affairs via CNA
The previous record was 7,506 in 2014 during Hong Kong’s pro-democracy “Umbrella movement.”
The Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) quoted unnamed sources as saying that the number of arrivals would have been higher if not for COVID-19 border restrictions.
Taiwan does not have an asylum or refugee law, nor does it accept refugee applications — fearful of a potential influx from China.
However, Hong Kongers can apply to live in Taiwan through other channels, including investment visas.
President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) administration has vowed support for Hong Kong’s democracy movement and launched a new office last year to deal with Hong Kongers seeking to stay in Taiwan.
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