Taiwan urged to take lessons from Hong Kong after jailing of activists

Taipei, Nov. 20 (CNA) Taiwanese experts and Hong Kongers on Wednesday urged Taiwanese society to reflect on the consequences of a mass trial in Hong Kong which culminated in 45 pro-democracy figures receiving lengthy prison sentences, warning of the threat Beijing poses to Taiwan's democracy.

The day after 45 pro-democracy activists and former politicians in Hong Kong were handed down prison terms ranging from four to 10 years, a seminar was held in Taipei to explore how the mass sentencing could impact Taiwan and to voice support for Hong Kong.

Sky Fung (馮詔天), secretary-general of Hong Kong Outlanders, a civic group of Taiwan-based Hongkongers, noted that many Hongkongers in the past, like many Taiwanese today, believed that a crackdown on democracy would not impact them.

Fung said many in the city believed that Hong Kong's status as "an international financial center that China needed to attract funds" would safeguard the city.

"We also thought we had the rule of law," Fung added.

He added that after Beijing tightened its control over Hong Kong, Hongkongers realized that "everything China said was a lie," including the "one country, two systems" framework used to govern the former British colony.

"We hope that Taiwanese people can learn from Hong Kong's experience, as well as from those in Tibet and Xinjiang, to truly understand the nature of the Chinese regime -- and not to trust it," Fung said.

Echoing Fung, Lai Chung-chiang (賴中強), convener of the Taiwan Economic Democracy Union, said that the way the Chinese authorities deal with Hong Kong-related issues was similar to the approach taken toward Taiwan.

He cited an example that after Hong Kong enacted Article 23 of the Basic Law in March this year -- a law addressing national security that covers acts such as treason, insurrection, and sabotage -- China introduced a new set of legal guidelines targeting advocates of Taiwan independence in June.

Article 23 and that set of guidelines are designed to "punish regions that China cannot fully control," Lai said, adding that the Chinese authorities imposed charges such as "subverting the Chinese regime" and "splitting China" on those who oppose its rule.

"In reality, the approaches are consistent, and I hope everyone can see this," he added.

On Tuesday, 45 pro-democracy activists, including Joshua Wong (黃之鋒) -- a prominent figure since the 2014 Umbrella Movement in Hong Kong -- were sentenced to prison by the city's high court for conspiracy to commit subversion.

Wong was among 47 pro-democracy campaigners arrested and charged in 2021 under the Beijing-imposed National Security Law for their involvement in a "primary election" held by the pro-democracy camp in July 2020 to select candidates for an upcoming legislative election in the city.

Benny Tai (戴耀廷), a former law professor at the University of Hong Kong, received a 10-year prison sentence, the harshest among those convicted.

This trial was considered the most forceful use of the draconian law introduced on June 30, 2020, following months-long pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong in 2019 against Beijing's tightening control.