‘Freedom of speech is in the present tense’: Protests send Hongkongers to Taiwan in search of new lives – Hong Kong Free Press

by Amber Wang, with Yan Zhao

Protests that have paralysedHongKongfor nearly six months are pushing residents to seek new lives abroad, with many turning to nearby democratic Taiwan to escape the uncertainty at home.

Taiwan has long attractedHongKongers seeking an alternative to their citys frenetic pace and sky-high rents.

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But the number granted short-term and permanent residency in Taiwan rose nearly 30 percent to over 4,000 between January and September from a year earlier, with investment fromHongKongalmost doubling.

Leonardo Wong was in the southern Taiwanese city of Kaohsiung last month scouting locations for a restaurant he plans to open when he moves to the island in January.

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HongKongis no longer safe. You dont know what would happen tomorrow. There are too many external forces that could change the course of things, the 27-year-old told AFP.

Now it feels rather like things could never go back to the way they were. We cant see what kind of future (HongKong) is heading towards.

Taiwan does not recognise the legal concept of asylum or accept refugee applications, fearful of a potential influx from the authoritarian mainland.

ButHongKongers can apply to live on the island through a variety of means, including investment visas.

A city with hope

Former system analyst Chow Chung-ming recently obtained a residency permit through a scheme that requires a Tw$6 million (US$197,000) investment,a fraction of the costs associated with other popular immigration destinations such as Australia, Canada and the United States.

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The 41-year-old moved to Kaohsiung attracted partly by lower rents, which have helped him realise a childhood dream of opening a cat cafe this July, but also the islands relative freedoms.

In Taiwan, freedom of speech is in the present tense. People can elect the president and lawmakers rights thatHongKongers dont have and I dont see any chance of ever having, he said.

Protests inHongKongerupted in response to proposed legislation that would have allowed extraditions to the mainland, but have snowballed into demands for greater freedoms in the city.

Beijing officially espouses a so-called one country, two systems policy onHongKong, allowing the city greater freedoms and rule of law, but protesters argue that has been gradually eroded.

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A 50-year guarantee of that status will expire in 2047, with manyHongKongers convinced their freedoms will keep shrinking until the city is fully absorbed into the mainland.

I think the tightening on freedom will continue inHongKonguntil its one country, one system, Chow said.

The current departure ofHongKongers abroad is described by some as a third wave, after many residents went overseas ahead of the 1997 British handover and, in smaller numbers, after the 2014 failure of the pro-democracy Umbrella Movement.

Businesswoman Suki Lui has regularly participated in pro-democracy protests, but she now plans to relocate to Taiwan, hoping to give her two-year-old daughter a better future.

My emotions have gone through so many ups and downs and I feel I have endured more emotion than I can handle, the 37-year-old said.

This picture taken on November 13, 2019 shows Chow Chung-ming, a former computer programmer in Hong Kong, speaks during an interview at his coffee shop in Kaohsiung, southern Taiwan. Photo: Yan Zhao in Hong Kong.

I hope she can get a better education, can enjoy freedom, can realise her dreams in the future I hope she can choose and live in a city with hope.

Safeguard Taiwan

But even those who move to Taiwan will live under a cloud cast by China.

Beijing sees the self-ruled island as part of its territory and has vowed to seize it, by force if necessary, even though the two have been governed separately for the past seven decades.

President Tsai Ing-wen, who took office in 2016, refuses to acknowledge that the island is part of one China and has repeatedly voiced support forHongKongs pro-democracy protesters.

In response, Beijing has ramped up economic and military pressure on Taiwan and poached many of the islands few remaining diplomatic allies.

Tsai faces elections in January against an opponent who favours much warmer ties with Beijing and has called the upcoming vote a fight for freedom and democracy.

Some displacedHongKongers hope the island will heed the lessons of the unrest in their home city.

I cant vote yet but I hope people will vote for someone who can safeguard Taiwan, said Chow.

Phoenix Law, 30, said she moved to Taiwan in September drawn by the islands greater freedoms.

If people (in Taiwan) dont accept what the president does, they can resist, she said.

I hope Taiwanese people are on alert after seeing the situation inHongKong. Dont trust the Chinese Communist Party, what they say may sound nice but that are all lies.

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'Freedom of speech is in the present tense': Protests send Hongkongers to Taiwan in search of new lives - Hong Kong Free Press