My Take | Tsai kills slim chance of protest amnesty

Whatever slim chance there was for the Hong Kong government to offer amnesty to violent protesters, Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen has killed it. In a moment of exuberance, Tsai called them “friends from Hong Kong” who could count on the self-ruled island to provide humanitarian aid, including asylum.

Hong Kong police are tracking down about 700 core protesters accused of having committed violent acts or assisting others to do so. According to advocacy groups in Taiwan, up to about 60 demonstrators from Hong Kong have reached the island and are exploring their legal options of staying there, including applying for political asylum.

Tsai has done so well exploiting the unrest in Hong Kong to gain political capital. She was left for dead, politically speaking, after massive losses in local elections in November. But then, President Xi Jinping’s hardline statement about using “one country, two systems” as the model to unify Taiwan with the mainland has helped boost Tsai’s standing among independence-minded voters.

The unrest in Hong Kong since June has been cleverly exploited by Tsai as proof that one country, two systems doesn’t work. Recent surveys show she may yet win a second term as president in January.

But verbally supporting Hong Kong’s protesters, however violent, is one thing, offering them residency on the island is something else. Perhaps she was just boasting and has no intention of honouring her promise.