Flight of Hong Kong protesters piles pressure on Taiwan
This year, coronavirus-related travel restrictions and Hong Kong’s new security law have narrowed the protesters’ options to leave Hong Kong and sharply reduced the numbers fleeing to Taiwan to only a few dozen. The most desperate are taking their chances by sea.
Hong Kong has so far charged over 600 people with rioting, which carries up to a 10-year jail term.
While Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen pledged assistance to people arriving from Hong Kong, including setting up an office to help with employment, living allowances and counselling, the Taiwan government has repeatedly said that anyone who enters the country must do so legally.
In fact, Taiwan does not want to be accused of helping those whom Beijing calls 'violent criminals'. They also fear Chinese military threats against the Taiwan-controlled Pratas Islands.
Source: Reuters #Sep30
#fleeing #Taiwan #PratasIslands
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-hongkong-security-taiwan-insight/flight-of-hong-kong-protesters-piles-pressure-on-taiwan-idUSKBN26L1SR
This year, coronavirus-related travel restrictions and Hong Kong’s new security law have narrowed the protesters’ options to leave Hong Kong and sharply reduced the numbers fleeing to Taiwan to only a few dozen. The most desperate are taking their chances by sea.
Hong Kong has so far charged over 600 people with rioting, which carries up to a 10-year jail term.
While Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen pledged assistance to people arriving from Hong Kong, including setting up an office to help with employment, living allowances and counselling, the Taiwan government has repeatedly said that anyone who enters the country must do so legally.
In fact, Taiwan does not want to be accused of helping those whom Beijing calls 'violent criminals'. They also fear Chinese military threats against the Taiwan-controlled Pratas Islands.
Source: Reuters #Sep30
#fleeing #Taiwan #PratasIslands
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-hongkong-security-taiwan-insight/flight-of-hong-kong-protesters-piles-pressure-on-taiwan-idUSKBN26L1SR
U.S.
Flight of Hong Kong protesters piles pressure on Taiwan
For some Hong Kong protesters, stripped of their passports and facing criminal charges, a perilous 600 km sea journey to Taiwan is their only hope of escape. For Taiwan, which has promised assistance to the people of Hong Kong but is wary of antagonising…