Hong Kong students join Taiwan sit-in

Taiwanese students who have been occupying their legislature since last Tuesday extended their support to Hong Kong's Occupy Central movement, as a group of Hong Kong students joined their ninth day of protest yesterday to show solidarity between two sides in the fight for democracy.

"Occupy Central! Support Hong Kong!", "Support Hong Kong! Support Taiwan!" chanted the 200 or so Taiwanese students in the chamber of the Legislative Yuan after they listened to the visiting Hongkongers' speeches.

Joining the "Occupy Legislature" sit-in were five students from Chinese and City universities and a Hongkonger working in Taiwan. Four of the students arrived in Taipei on Tuesday night to support the student protest against a controversial free-trade pact with the mainland.

"In Hong Kong, we see the mainland's control over the economy has been on the rise … That's why I decided to come to Taiwan to support the student movement," said Chan Man-hei, a Chinese University science student.

Lam Wing-man, who studies public administration at City University, was among the estimated 150 people injured when police forcefully evicted demonstrators from the Executive Yuan.

Showing a bruised arm, she said: "They hit me on the head with riot shields, grabbed my limbs, twisted my arms and pulled me to the ground … I was thrown down a staircase by three or four male police officers."