Support for Hong Kong protesters lands Taiwan politician in hot water
- Facebook post by pro-independence councillor referred to police by political rival
- Donations of supplies may be in breach of self-ruled island’s national security laws
A pro-independence councillor from the southern Taiwanese city of Kaohsiung could be one of the first people in Taiwan to face charges under the self-ruled island’s newly revised national security law, over a Facebook post in support of Hong Kong’s anti-government demonstrators.
Huang Jie, from the New Power Party, posted a call on her Facebook page on Saturday for donations of anti-tear gas equipment and other supplies for the Hong Kong protesters, who are in their 10th week of conflict over a proposal, now suspended, that would have allowed people from the city to be extradited to mainland China.
Opposition Kuomintang (KMT) councillor Chan Chiang-chun, from Taoyuan City in the north of Taiwan, said that Huang’s post violated the security law, which forbids Taiwanese from offering supplies and aid to hostile countries, including China’s special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau.
The law means that Taiwanese supporters of the Hong Kong protesters risk up to 10 years’ jail and a maximum fine of NT$30 million (US$950,000) if they contribute funds or supplies.
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Huang is a vocal critic of KMT presidential candidate and Kaohsiung mayor Han Kuo-yu.
“Under the revised law, Huang is allegedly in violation by aiding enemy forces, which cover Hong Kong and Macau, and for this I have taken the case to the police for legal proceeding,” Chan said.
Huang cried foul, saying she had merely reposted the message on Facebook and she had nothing to do with the campaign to raise anti-tear gas supplies for protesters in Hong Kong.
“If this creates a national security problem, then it is a security problem involving China instead of Taiwan,” she said.
Huang also lashed out at Chan and Han for failing to sympathise with the Hong Kong protesters, a number of whom have been injured in their confrontations with police.
Taiwanese police said they would refer the matter to prosecutors, who would determine if any law had been breached.
The issue has generated heated debate among the public and political parties in Taiwan over whether aiding Hong Kong protesters should be regarded as a violation of the island’s national security laws.
Independence-leaning Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen has been vocal in her support of the anti-extradition bill campaign in Hong Kong, which she has said might also jeopardise Taiwanese people who support human rights activists on the mainland.
A Taipei-based writer said on Monday that, instead of calling for supplies for the Hong Kong protesters, Huang should have asked for donations to charity groups in Taiwan. “Would Taiwan be happy if some people in Hong Kong raised supplies for retired police and military veterans in Taiwan in their protests against the authorities in Taiwan?” he asked in a Facebook post under his pen name “Rocky”.
A Taipei-based prosecutor, however, said that whether Huang’s action violated the law should be determined by whether such a move endangered the security of the island.
The island’s legislature approved the revision to the security act in June to strengthen punishments for practices that jeopardised national security or social order, including supporting organisations and collecting confidential information for Beijing.
The revised act also prohibits anyone in Taiwan from initiating, sponsoring, hosting, aiding, manipulating, commanding or developing organisations for the use of Hong Kong, Macau, or overseas hostile forces.
