Taiwan warns of revoking Hong Kong's special status over China's proposed law

The simmering discontent over China’s proposed national security legislation, affecting the higher degree of autonomy of Hong Kong, has now reached Taiwan. President Tsai Ing-wen said that the proposed legislation may prompt the self-governing island republic to revoke the special status it has extended to Hong Kong.

The National People’s Congress (NPC) recently presented a bill aimed at “establishing and improving” the legal system of Hong Kong to “safeguard national security”. Wang Chen, Vice Chairman of China's NPC, had said during the session that the recent protests and violence in the territory challenged the bottom line of the ‘One Country, Two Systems' principle and threatened national sovereignty, security and development interests.

In a Facebook post, Ing-wen raised concerns regarding the latest development vis-a-vis the autonomy of Hong Kong. As per the current rules related to Hong Kong, the residents of the semi-autonomous region get easier access to the island republic and can invest much more easily than mainland Chinese. She said that the act laying out those rules could be revoked if there is a “change in situation”.

“We hope the situation in Hong Kong does not get to this stage and will pay close attention to developments, and take necessary corresponding measures in a timely way,” she added.

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Assures to provide assistance

The Taiwanese President said that her country would provide Hong Kong with “necessary assistance” as Taiwan has become a refuge for pro-democracy protesters fleeing persecution in Hong Kong. She opined that the core values of democratic freedom and judicial independence in Hong Kong will be severely eroded if the national security law gets implemented. Ing-wen asserted that the solution lies in implementing freedom and democracy and truly live up to Hong Kong's promise of autonomy and not in bullets and crackdown on protesters.

“Only in this way can Beijing and the Hong Kong authorities regain trust and let Hong Kong society return to freedom and calm,” she wrote.

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(Image credit: AP)