Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-wen denies ‘using’ Hong Kong protests for election

She says Taiwan has always had a supportive attitude towards Hongkongers taking to the streets to fight for democracy
Remarks follow criticism from her main rival in next month’s vote and from Baptist University student leader

Taiwan elections 2020

Reuters

Published: 7:44pm, 10 Dec 2019

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Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-wen on Tuesday said she was not “using” the anti-government protests in Hong Kong for electoral purposes, following criticism from her main opponent in next month’s presidential vote and from a Hong Kong student leader.

The protests in the city have been widely covered in democratic Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its sacred territory, and are frequently mentioned by Tsai and her ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) on the campaign trail as a warning on the potential dangers Taiwan faces from mainland China.

Writing on his Facebook page over the weekend, Keith Fong Chung-yin, president of the Hong Kong Baptist University Student Union, said the DPP only verbally supported the protests and had not enacted specific laws to support the protesters.

People would inevitably suspect that the DPP “only wants to exchange Hongkongers’ sacrifices for Taiwanese people’s votes”, he added.

Baptist University Student Union president Keith Fong said Taiwan’s ruling DPP only verbally supported the protesters. Photo: K.Y. Cheng

Tsai’s main opponent in the January 11 presidential election, Han Kuo-yu from the Kuomintang party which favours close ties with the mainland, wrote on his Facebook page on Tuesday that Tsai was using Hong Kong as a “tool” for votes.

Tsai Ing-wen’s main opponent in the presidential race Han Kuo-yu accused her of using Hong Kong as a “tool” for votes. Photo: Reuters

Speaking to reporters later in the day, Tsai said that Taiwan had always had a supportive attitude towards the people of Hong Kong taking to the streets to fight for democracy.

What was happening in Hong Kong had also put the people of Taiwan on alert and made them think that the island’s freedom and democratic values has must be protected with even greater strength, she added.

“Therefore, when they watch and listen to all the politicians, they pay special attention to the views and determination of these politicians or candidates on these issues,” Tsai said.

“So I do not think we are using Hong Kong people to conduct the election; rather it is a process of self-vigilance by the people of Taiwan after what has happened in Hong Kong.”

Taiwanese public vote for chaos … in word of the year poll

Taiwan currently has no law on refugees which could be applied to Hong Kong protesters who may seek asylum on the island though its laws promise to help Hong Kong citizens whose safety and liberty are threatened for political reasons.

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