People yesterday marched in Taipei on the fourth anniversary of Hong Kong democracy protests against a Beijing-backed extradition bill.
This year’s event, with demonstrators marching from the front gates of National Taiwan University to the archway in front of Liberty Square, was themed “Going together against the wind,” which organizers said was meant to show that, despite difficulties, Hong Kongers were not giving up on their fight for democracy and freedom.
The event’s slogan “zai jian Hong Kong” (再見香港) had a double meaning, bidding farewell to the old Hong Kong, while expressing hope for it to rise again, the organizers said.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Hung Shen-han (洪申翰) said that significant democracy movements in Hong Kong — observing and mourning the Tiananmen Square Massacre and the July 1 processions — were no longer possible in the territory.
The torch of Hong Kong’s democracy movement has been passed to Taiwan, along with the people who participated in the protests, Hung said, adding that he hopes Taiwan would continue such events.
“If we do not stand against such oppressions, then everyone will become a victim, and the democracy and freedom that we hold will be lost,” he said.
Taiwanese democracy advocate Lee Ming-che (李明哲), who was imprisoned in China for five years, also joined the procession and gave a short talk.
The protests against the extradition bill did not only affect Hong Kong, they affected the world, because Hong Kong’s protests formed the “front line” against Chinese hegemony, Lee said.
The front line demonstrated to the world that Beijing unilaterally disregarded a signed promise to allow Hong Kong to maintain its autonomous government for five decades, he said.
“Internally, such action is presented as the oppression of human rights, while to the international community, it is a blatant disregard of the world order,” he said.
The marchers in Taipei were there to send a message, Lee said.
“When you employ such brutality against Chinese, Hong Kongers and Tibetans, Taiwanese reject such methods, and we will defend the right to dignity in living our own lives,” he said.
Hong Kong groups at the march said that many who have participated in such events had been branded criminals for contravening Hong Kong’s National Security Law, but they are not afraid and would continue to protest in the territory or overseas.
Foreign tourists who purchase a seven-day Taiwan Pass are to get a second one free of charge as part of a government bid to boost tourism, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. A pair of Taiwan Passes is priced at NT$5,000 (US$156.44), an agency staff member said, adding that the passes can be used separately. The pass can be used in many of Taiwan’s major cities and to travel to several tourist resorts. It expires seven days after it is first used. The pass is a three-in-one package covering the high-speed rail system, mass rapid transport (MRT) services and the Taiwan Tourist Shuttle services,
Drinking a lot of water or milk would not help a person who has ingested terbufos, a toxic chemical that has been identified as the likely cause of three deaths, a health expert said yesterday. An 83-year-old woman surnamed Tseng (曾) and two others died this week after eating millet dumplings with snails that Tseng had made. Tseng died on Tuesday and others ate the leftovers when they went to her home to mourn her death that evening. Twelve people became ill after eating the dumplings following Tseng’s death. Their symptoms included vomiting and convulsions. Six were hospitalized, with two of them
DIVA-READY: The city’s deadline for the repairs is one day before pop star Jody Chiang is to perform at the Taipei Dome for the city’s Double Ten National Day celebrations The Taipei City Government has asked Farglory Group (遠雄集團) to repair serious water leaks in the Taipei Dome before Friday next week, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said yesterday, following complaints that many areas at the stadium were leaking during two baseball games over the weekend. The dome on Saturday and Sunday hosted two games in tribute to CTBC Brothers’ star Chou Szu-chi (周思齊) ahead of his retirement from the CPBL. The games each attracted about 40,000 people, filling the stadium to capacity. However, amid heavy rain, many people reported water leaking on some seats, at the entrance and exit areas, and the
BIG collection: The herbarium holds more than 560,000 specimens, from the Japanese colonial period to the present, including the Wulai azalea, which is now extinct in the wild The largest collection of plant specimens in Taiwan, the Taipei Botanical Garden’s herbarium, is celebrating its 100th anniversary with an exhibition that opened on Friday. The herbarium provides critical historical documents for botanists and is the first of its kind in Taiwan, Taiwan Forestry Research Institute director Tseng Yen-hsueh (曾彥學) said. It is housed in a two-story red brick building, which opened during 1924. At the time, it stored 30,000 plant specimens from almost 6,000 species, including Taiwanese plant samples collected by Tomitaro Makino, the “father of Japanese botany,” Tseng said. The herbarium collection has grown in the century since its