A group of Hong Kongers living in Taiwan, known as the Hong Kong Outlanders, yesterday urged Taiwanese to refrain from visiting Hong Kong, as the city is “perilous” after its new security law entered into effect yesterday.
Article 23 of the Basic Law of Hong Kong covers treason, sedition and state secrets, and allows trials to be held behind closed doors.
The group also urged Taipei to deny entry to Hong Kong officials and lawmakers who supported the ordinance’s drafting.
Photo: Ann Wang, Reuters
The group put on a skit during a protest in Taipei’s Ximending (西門町) area, with a person in a Winnie the Pooh costume representing Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) being sentenced to life imprisonment for treason.
Taiwan Hong Kong Association director-general Sang Pu (桑普) said that people who possess pictures from the Apple Daily newspaper or issue statements criticizing the Hong Kong government might be incriminated.
Taipei should provide humanitarian asylum for Hong Kongers, he said.
“China is a lion and a tiger, and it will come after Taiwan after it takes down Hong Kong,” he said.
Lee Man-ho (李文浩), former Sham Shui Po District councilor in Hong Kong, said his was the last generation of democratically minded councilors, adding that he and others are wanted by the Hong Kong government.
The ordinance is a severe setback to Hong Kong’s democracy and freedom, and if Taiwan and the international community do nothing, it would show China that the democratic camp is not unified.
United Microelectronics Corp founder Robert Tsao (曹興誠) attended the event and said that the reason Beijing is attempting to tie the city government with itself is that it was afraid of being challenged.
Taiwan could end up like Hong Kong if it is not more alert, Tsao added.
A Hong Konger who goes by the name Fu Tong (赴湯) said the ordinance was a terrible law because there are no clear definitions of what constitutes a criminal action, adding: “It is all up to the Hong Kong government; if they say you are a criminal, then you are.”
The law affects not only Hong Kongers, but all people from democratic countries, Fu Tong said.
Democratic countries and communities should help protect Hong Kongers in exile and sanction Hong Kong government officials, he said.
HSINCHU CASES: Five people among 35 who were reported being sick were still in hospital after eating at a vendor in a market in Jhubei, the local health agency said Thirty-five people have sought medical treatment for acute symptoms after allegedly eating banh mi (Vietnamese sandwiches) from a vendor in Jhubei City (竹北), the Hsinchu County Public Health Bureau said yesterday. The bureau said that since Saturday, it has received several reports of suspected food poisoning from hospitals. The vendor has been ordered to temporarily suspend its business, it said, adding that tests were being conducted to determine whether the people had food poisoning, with results expected in about two weeks. A preliminary investigation showed that the people who sought treatment had recently eaten banh mi at a vendor at a retail market
COLLABORATION: As TSMC is building an advanced wafer fab in Dresden, Germany, it needs to build a comprehensive supply chain in Europe, Joseph Wu said Taiwan is planning to team up with the Czech Republic to build a semiconductor cluster in the European country, National Security Council Secretary-General Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) said on Friday. Wu, who led a Taiwanese delegation at the annual GLOBSEC Forum held in Prague from Friday to today, said in a news conference that Taiwan seeks to foster cooperation between Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) and its counterparts in Czechia. Such cooperation is expected to transform the country into one of the most important semiconductor clusters in Europe over the next three to five years, he added. As TSMC is building an advanced
A joint declaration by Pacific leaders was reissued yesterday morning with mentions of Taiwan removed after China slammed an earlier version as a “mistake” that “must be corrected.” After five days of talks in Tonga, a “cleared” communique was released on Friday that reaffirmed a 30-year-old agreement allowing Taiwan to take part in the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF). However, the wording immediately raised the ire of Chinese diplomats, who piled pressure on Pacific leaders to amend the document. The forum reissued the communique without explanation yesterday morning, conspicuously deleting the paragraph concerning the bloc’s “relations with Taiwan.” “It must be a
China lacks the ability to “fully” invade Taiwan as it does not have the equipment, but is bringing online advanced new weapons and has other options to threaten Taiwan, such as inspecting foreign cargo ships, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said yesterday. In an annual threat assessment of China sent to lawmakers, a copy of which was reviewed by Reuters, the ministry said Beijing continues to hone skills such as joint command operations. “However, the use of tactics and strategies against Taiwan is still limited by the natural geographical environment of the Taiwan Strait and insufficient landing equipment and logistic capabilities,”