HONG KONG PROTESTS- Tsais Facebook post on HK taken the wrong way- MAC

• By Dennis Xie / Staff writer, with CNA

A Facebook post by President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) on Sunday was meant to support Hong Kong by warning Beijing of the negative consequences if it insists on passing a national security law for the territory, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday.

Tsai did not intend to “abandon Hong Kong”; she aimed to warn Beijing of the “extremely serious” consequences if it enacts a national security law for Hong Kong, the council said in a statement.

The statement came as opposition parties expressed concern about Tsai’s proposal that the Act Governing Relations with Hong Kong and Macau (香港澳門關係條例) might have to be suspended if China passes the proposed national security law, which would undermine the territory’s autonomy.

In the Facebook post, Tsai reiterated the support and attention Taiwan has been giving to the democratic developments in Hong Kong, saying that if Beijing’s bill is enacted, “the core values of Hong Kong’s democratic freedom and judicial independence will be seriously eroded.”

“Article 60 of the act states that if there is a change in Hong Kong’s situation, Taiwan can suspend part or all of the provisions of the act,” Tsai said, adding that “we hope the situation in Hong Kong does not worsen to the point that it happens.”

Article 60 of the act stipulates that if any change occurs in Hong Kong or Macau that endangers the security of Taiwan, the Cabinet can ask the president to order a suspension of the application of “all or part of the provisions of this act.”

Taiwan offers preferential treatment to Hong Kong and Macau in terms of trade, travel and cultural relations.

The council said that Article 60 was put in place for national security purposes, in case the Chinese Communist Party undermines Hong Kong’s high degree of autonomy, or even turns it into a region no different from China.

The act also serves to supervise whether China delivers on its promise to give Hong Kong 50 years of autonomy, as part of Taiwan’s efforts to safeguard the fundamental values of the region, such as human rights and the rule of law, it said.

As the act covers how Taiwan can assist Hong Kongers if they are being oppressed, the government would work to assist Hong Kongers using the existing framework, the council added.

However, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus whip Lin Wei-chou (林為洲) said that in her post, Tsai seemed to be talking about the “punitive actions” Taiwan could take against Hong Kong if Beijing pushed through the national security law.

The KMT hopes that when politically oppressed Hong Kongers need help, the government can provide protection better than the conditions stated in the act, Lin said.

Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) deputy caucus whip Jang Chyi-lu (張其祿) said that suspending special treatment for Hong Kongers as regulated in the act would be the opposite of supporting Hong Kong.

More concrete plans are needed to provide actual support to Hong Kong’s democratic movement, Jang said.

TPP caucus whip Lai Hsiang-ling (賴香伶) backed Jang’s remarks, saying that if the Democratic Progressive Party decides to suspend provisions of the act, it must specify when and how it would do so, and whom it would apply to, otherwise it would make the situation “even less friendly” for Hong Kongers.

New Power Party caucus whip Chiu Hsien-chi (邱顯智) said that the most important thing at the moment is how to help Hong Kong safeguard its democracy, adding that Taiwan could amend the act to help Hong Kongers by making it more specific and inclusive.