China has suffocated Hong Kong’s civil society and its next target could be Taiwan, Nathan Law (羅冠聰), cofounder of the disbanded pro-democracy Hong Kong political party Demosisto, said in Taipei yesterday.
Law made the remarks at a launch in Taipei for his book When the Wind Blows — the Struggles for Freedom of Hong Kong (時代推著我們前行：羅冠聰的香港備忘錄).
Law has been living in the UK since he fled Hong Kong in 2020, and the book is about his fighting for the cause of freedom in the area. He was granted political asylum in 2021.
Photo: CNA
“Fleeing is a long and distressing process, but it also brings about a strong driving force and could be perceived as a battle against myself,” he said, adding that the book tells of “the shared experiences of the broader people of Hong Kong over the past few years.”
“I am lucky enough to leave Hong Kong and be here with you, while many of my friends cannot leave and have no choice but to live in a prison — either the ‘big prison’ or a small prison as such,” Law said.
“Many of our partners have been put in jail for more than three-and-a-half years without a definite date of release,” he added.
“The book is dedicated to those who cannot speak up for themselves or cannot take part in our campaign,” he said, calling on Taiwan to continue to pay attention and support Hong Kongers.
Law said Taiwan is a place of significance for him, as it was the first foreign country he ever visited, when he was 18.
“I chose to promote my book in Taiwan mainly because books such as this are not allowed to be published in Hong Kong anymore. My choice reflects the collapse of freedom of publishing and speech in Hong Kong,” he said.
Taiwan is also the best choice because it is “the most democratic and free among the Chinese-speaking countries,” and “many Hong Kongers have relocated to, and reside in, Taiwan,” he said.
At a panel discussion held alongside the book launch, United Microelectronics Corp founder and former chairperson Robert Tsao (曹興誠) said he could relate to the experience described in the book, as he had been in Hong Kong joining anti-extradition bill protests on the street in 2019.
The Chinese Communist Party regime is built on violence and lies, and has no legitimacy and gravely threatens the national security of Taiwan, he said.
Although campaigning efforts made by Hong Kong democracy activists such as Law alerted Taiwanese about the peril Beijing poses to freedom, they have become desensitized to the threat over the years, Tsao said, urging Taiwanese to learn more about Hong Kong’s situation and work together to defend the nation’s freedom.
“Taiwan is on the same side as Hong Kong against the totalitarian China that has quashed Hong Kong’s civil society and voices of dissent, and threatens to take Taiwan by force,” Law said.
What happened to Hong Kong “could be a lesson for Taiwan on how China cracks down on civil society and wipes out opposition forces,” he said. “It is thus crucial for Taiwan and Hong Kong to continue exchanges and mutual support for each other.”
Writer Wang Hao (汪浩), who sought political asylum in the UK due to his support for the 1989 Tiananmen Square democracy protests, at the panel discussion said that he could relate to the feelings of exiles who had to cut themselves off from their family, as described in the book.
Fighting against autocracy is a protracted war of resistance, but the autocratic regime would not last long as it does not resonate with human nature, while democracy with freedom does, he said.
Snow fell in the mountainous areas of northern, central and eastern Taiwan in the early hours of yesterday, as cold air currents moved south. In the northern municipality of Taoyuan, snow started falling at about 6am in Fusing District (復興), district head Su Tso-hsi (蘇佐璽) said. By 10am, Lalashan National Forest Recreation Area, as well as Hualing (華陵), Sanguang (三光) and Gaoyi (高義) boroughs had seen snowfall, Su said. In central Taiwan, Shei-Pa National Park in Miaoli County and Hehuanshan National Forest Recreation Area in Nantou County saw snowfall of 5cm and 6cm respectively, by 10am, staff at the parks said. It began snowing
Global bodies should stop excluding Taiwan for political reasons, President William Lai (賴清德) told Pope Francis in a letter, adding that he agrees war has no winners. The Vatican is one of only 12 countries to retain formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan, and Taipei has watched with concern efforts by Beijing and the Holy See to improve ties. In October, the Vatican and China extended an accord on the appointment of Catholic bishops in China for four years, pointing to a new level of trust between the two parties. Lai, writing to the pope in response to the pontiff’s message on Jan. 1’s
HOLIDAY EXERCISE: National forest recreation areas from north to south offer travelers a wide choice of sights to connect with nature and enjoy its benefits Hiking is a good way to improve one’s health, the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency said, as it released a list of national forest recreation areas that travelers can visit during the Lunar New Year holiday. Taking a green shower of phytoncides in the woods could boost one’s immunity system and metabolism, agency Director-General Lin Hwa-ching (林華慶) cited a Japanese study as saying. For people visiting northern Taiwan, Lin recommended the Dongyanshan National Forest Recreation Area in Taoyuan’s Fusing District (復興). Once an important plantation in the north, Dongyanshan (東眼山) has a number of historic monuments, he said. The area is broadly covered by
A Vietnamese migrant worker on Thursday won the NT$12 million (US$383,590) jackpot on a scratch-off lottery ticket she bought from a lottery shop in Changhua County’s Puyan Township (埔鹽), Taiwan Lottery Co said yesterday. The lottery winner, who is in her 30s and married, said she would continue to work in Taiwan and send her winnings to her family in Vietnam to improve their life. More Taiwanese and migrant workers have flocked to the lottery shop on Sec 2 of Jhangshuei Road (彰水路) to share in the luck. The shop owner, surnamed Chen (陳), said that his shop has been open for just
RSS