Vidushi Nautiyal, Pune
Two Chinese nationals had been deported from Taiwan on Thursday, according to the government of Taiwan for interfering with a protest organized by exiles from Hong Kong in Taipei on the national holiday of China.
Taiwan, a democratically governed country, which Beijing claims as part of its own territory, has a sizable Hong Kong community that lives there, that had fled from the city when new national security restrictions were imposed in response to widespread anti-government demonstrations.
According to the Hong Kong Outlanders group, they organized a small protest on October 1 on China’s national day, in Taipei’s trendy Ximen shopping district. The demonstrators claimed to be against China’s encroachment on Hong Kong’s democracy, freedom, and human rights. They had also hung banners with the words “Liberate Hong Kong” and “Hong Kong Independence”.
However, they were verbally and physically harassed and pushed around by a group of Chinese individuals while they were there.
Two Chinese tourists verbally abused the protestors and tore down the banners, disrupting the demonstration. “Today is China’s national day, and I will not allow these kinds of flags to be displayed,” yelled one of the tourists allegedly. Moreover, they went on to state that Taiwan and Hong Kong are both parts of China.
Furthermore, October 1, 2019, was the first time a Hong Kong protester was injured by live fire used by the city’s law enforcement, intensifying the already violent altercation between the two parties.
The two Chinese nationals engaged in the incident, who were supposed to be visiting family in Taiwan, had their entrance permits withdrawn and were deported, according to Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council.
“The government will take immediate and strict action against any mainland Chinese who come to Taiwan and engage in illegal or irregular behavior that endangers our national security and social stability,” the statement read. So far, China’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) has not answered a request for comment. China is currently still celebrating its week-long national day celebration.
However, similar experiences have taken place in Taiwan before. In 2019, a masked man threw red paint at Denise Ho, a Hong Kong singer and activist during a rally in Taiwan in support of the anti-government demonstrations in Hong Kong.