Radio Free Asia on July 18, 2019 reported on the increased number of Hong Kong protesters who were seekin asylum in Taiwan. See excerpts below:
More than a dozen anti-extradition protesters who broke into Hong Kong’s Legislative Council (LegCo) following a mass peaceful demonstration on July 1, 2019, have since fled to Taiwan, RFA has learned.
The young protesters, many of whom are students, could face jail terms of at least five years if they are convicted of “rioting” in a Hong Kong court, based on the treatment of leaders of the 2014 Occupy Central pro-democracy movement, their lawyers said.
But they also face formidable difficulties in applying for formal political asylum, as they are unable to prove that they were part of the storming of LegCo, because they were wearing masks to avoid detection at the time.
They have been offered temporary accommodation by Taiwanese NGOs,…
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Hundreds of anti-extradition protesters broke into the legislative building on July 1 after huge crowds took to the streets to protest plans to allow extradition to mainland China, smashing through the reinforced glass with metal objects ripped from the nearby streets over several hours.
Clad in yellow construction helmets, face masks and using swimming floats strapped to their arms as shields, the protesters surged into the building after a long face-off with police in full riot gear, who appeared at first to offer no resistance.
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Leung Man-to, a political science professor from Hong Kong who is currently at Taiwan National Cheng Kung University, said there had been a steady trickle of Hong Kong residents who had played a fairly up-front role in the protests into Taiwan in recent weeks.
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Gary Cheung, who is currently in his first year of a bachelor’s degree at National Taiwan University of Arts, said he was among more than 80 people arrested and charged with “obstructing public servants in the course of their duty” during the final clearance of Occupy Central protesters from Hong Kong’s Mong Kok district.
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He said that, five years on, the police appear to be taking a far more hard-line attitude to anti-extradition protesters than they did with those arrested during the Occupy, or Umbrella, movement.
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Hong Kong Democratic Party lawmaker James To said the police are unlikely to be able to keep up with the sheer number of protesters now taking to the streets, however.
“We are looking at major clashes a couple of times a week, so I don’t think it’s going to be easy to start looking back at what happened on July 1,” To said. “Most of [the evidence] is in the form of digital images, and we’ve had four or five huge protests since then.”
“How can they comb through so much footage at the same time as preparing for big protests at the weekends? They can’t have enough people to do that,” he said.
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Writing in the Ming Pao, Chinese University of Hong Kong journalism professor Francis Lee also called for an independent inquiry.
“Now that the above-mentioned radicalization process has taken shape, condemning it won’t change the direction of its development,” Lee said, noting polls that indicate widespread public support in Hong Kong for increasingly radical forms of political protest.
“The only ones who can solve the crisis are the government,” Lee wrote. “The establishment of an independent investigation committee, although not the same thing as resolving the issue, is the best way to ease tensions at the current time.”
“If we can’t even do this, it’s no wonder that some people feel that the government simply wants to escalate the conflict until ‘something happens’. In the current climate of distrust, if something really serious happens, those who support the movement will only see the government as the instigator.”
Världsinbördeskriget 
August 1, 2019 at 4:36 pm |
When these student protesters rammed their way into parliament, they have trampled on the very symbol of the democracy they so wish to defend. Hong Kong people feel they are unique, almost like a “chosen” people. In what way are they unique when they are merely a city of migrants. Hong Kong’s time is over – and its decline is set to accelerate with their undemocratic approach to change a system og governance which saw 700 million people lifted out of poverty. It would be far better if the young people of HK put their mind and energies into aligning and synergising with China, the soon to be economic powerhouse of the world.
August 11, 2019 at 11:56 am |
In response to your comment it should be noted that the demonstrators are protesting against the tyrannical dictatorship of the CCP. They are freedom fighters and not antidemocratic. They seek freedom in both Hongkong and in the China Mainland. The provocative statements in Golden Bauhinia Square like “The Heavens will destroy the Communist Party” and “Liberate Hongkong” are signs of revolution in the air. There is a call for democracy in the territory but also independence from China and the end of communism on Chinese soil.
It may seem almost impossible at the present time that freedom and democracy can be introduced in Mainland China. One must remember, however, that Chinese rebellions and revolutions often start at the periphery and then work their way to the center. The Qing dynasty of the Manchus, the last imperial reign, unraveled from the edges, as did others.
The dictatorship in Mainland China has used and abused market economy to reach its present position in world economy. The regime is now under pressure and is making the fatal mistake of opposing tariffs on Chinese exports. This will not end well for CCP.
gautic01