Misguided Hong Kong rebels still deserve second chance
- While young Hong Kong rioters who have escaped to Taiwan must face the music, the city has a responsibility to help those willing to turn themselves in, such as offering legal aid and the possibility of a pardon for non-violent offenders
That means for the vast majority, they can neither study nor work legally. The blue-ribbon crowd in Hong Kong is practically jeering. But mainstream opposition politicians and activists hardly bother with them either, despite being the ones who goaded them to throw themselves at the barricades.
In their naivety and inexperience, many thought Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen really would roll out the red carpet to welcome them as fellow democratic fighters. They didn’t realise most democratic politicians would say anything to get elected. Many now rely on charity, with little or no help from the government.
The unrest in Hong Kong helped revive Tsai’s plummeting popularity and propelled her to a second term in office.
But you have to wonder how welcome our young rebels really are on the island. If they could cause mayhem in their own city, they could well do the same over there. No society, democratic or not, likes to have a mass influx of young and unpredictable troublemakers. It’s doubtful the island would want to encourage more of them to go over.
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What Tsai’s government is doing now is perfectly logical, which is to do nothing. Not being a recognised state has worked in her favour.
Excluded from United Nations membership, Taiwan has never been a signatory to the UN Refugee Convention. Meanwhile, an asylum bill has been stuck in legislative limbo, which is exactly where Tsai wants it to be.
Are those young people still our responsibility? Is there a way for them to return home and still have a future? I would hope so, at least for those who have not committed serious or violent crimes.
A blanket amnesty is out of the question, as Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor does not have the legal power to offer it. But a pardon is possible, once legal proceedings have been completed.
Perhaps there is a way for those young people to turn themselves in. The government will offer legal aid so they will have representation. They must face the music, but judges, prosecutors and officials can still show leniency and compassion.
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