Letters | Hong Kong and Taiwan connected by more than just history

A look at modern history offers evidence of Taiwan’s importance to Hong Kong. During the Cold War, Hong Kong was a bridge between Taiwan and the West, given its status as a British colony. Because of Cathay Pacific, many well-known Hong Kong movie stars and singers made visits to Taiwan. Students in Taiwan would peek at banned books smuggled from Hong Kong at news stands.

While Taiwan was still under martial law, Hong Kong offered its people a window to fantasise about the outside world. In 1979, when Taiwan’s travel restrictions were lifted, Hong Kong became a preferred destination for its proximity, linguistic similarity and relatively affordable travel costs. Hong Kong remained the first choice for outbound travellers until 2009.

Hong Kong was also a bridge between Taiwan and the mainland. Before they could visit the mainland starting in 1987, veterans who retreated to Taiwan in 1949 would fly to Hong Kong for family reunions. When the Great Leap famine traumatised the mainland in the late 1950s, Taiwan provided food and medical aid to mainland compatriots through Hong Kong. It was also the time when numerous mainland anti-communist refugees came to Taiwan by the underground network in Hong Kong.

In 1989, Hong Kong and Taiwan witnessed the events in Tiananmen Square and suffered despondency when hopes of Chinese democratisation vanished. Tiananmen Square demonstrators such as Wu’er Kaixi, who now lives in Taiwan, fled the mainland through Hong Kong.