TAIPEI: A Taiwanese rights activist and outspoken critic of his government's attempts to seek closer ties with Beijing criticised Chinese authorities after he was denied entry to Hong Kong on Sunday.
Chen Wei-ting, a key figure in an unprecedented student-led protest occupation of Taiwan's parliament earlier this year, had planned to attend a mass rally Tuesday in Hong Kong in support of greater democracy there.
Chen said he was immediately taken away and questioned by officials upon arrival at Hong Kong airport on Sunday afternoon.
"They told me I could not enter Hong Kong due to 'political factors'," Chen told AFP, adding that he was questioned for about an hour before being sent back to Taiwan.
Chen said he had also planned to visit some friends organising an unofficial pro-democracy referendum in Hong Kong, reciprocating their support for the three-week-long Taiwanese protests against a proposed services trade pact with China.
"They don't want me to enter Hong Kong because they feared the merging of democracy movements with Taiwan," said Chen, who flew to Hong Kong on a travel document issued specially for Taiwanese by the Chinese authorities.
Chen said some other supporters of Taiwan's democracy movements had managed to get into Hong Kong to attend the rally Tuesday.
Organisers expect it to be the largest since Hong Kong's handover with upwards of 500,000 people.
Hong Kong's immigration department said it would not comment on individual cases."
An interesting development.
Lessons for me are:
1. Mr Chen and his students' occupation of the Legislative Yuan to me is WRONG. Very very wrong. Occupying the Legislative Yuan by force is trespassing. It is disrespecting the very place where laws are passed in Taiwan. It is sheer contempt of the laws. It has NO PLACE in Singapore;
2. Hong Kong SAR is in a very delicate situation. The Hongkongers, and it seems like quite a large number of them, wants full democratic election of their legislators and law makers. An idea that is foreign to the Chinese masters and really a scary idea actually. Hongkong SAR IS part of PRC. The unique 1-Country-2-Systems rules will come to pass in 33 years (the balance of 50 years from 1997). During this period will HK SAR get's its wish of a full democratic election of its officials? UNLIKELY unless PRC has it first, which is wishful thinking at best based on current reading;
3. YET, the turnout demanding such democratic election see big number in exceeds of a few hundred thousands. So, it is a voice NOT to be ignored BUT YET history and circumstance as it is today WILL NOT allow it to go further. I dread that the day of collision will come when those who REALLY want full democracy will be crashed should push come to shaft.
Singapore does not need this kind of democracy. We need voters who will exercise their votes at the General Election based on whichever political parties can convince them that they have a better solution than the others to provide a peaceful, harmonious, stable and prosperous environment for the majority of the voters to live, work, play and retire happily and healthily.
Chen Wei-ting, a key figure in an unprecedented student-led protest occupation of Taiwan's parliament earlier this year, had planned to attend a mass rally Tuesday in Hong Kong in support of greater democracy there.
Chen said he was immediately taken away and questioned by officials upon arrival at Hong Kong airport on Sunday afternoon.
"They told me I could not enter Hong Kong due to 'political factors'," Chen told AFP, adding that he was questioned for about an hour before being sent back to Taiwan.
Chen said he had also planned to visit some friends organising an unofficial pro-democracy referendum in Hong Kong, reciprocating their support for the three-week-long Taiwanese protests against a proposed services trade pact with China.
"They don't want me to enter Hong Kong because they feared the merging of democracy movements with Taiwan," said Chen, who flew to Hong Kong on a travel document issued specially for Taiwanese by the Chinese authorities.
Chen said some other supporters of Taiwan's democracy movements had managed to get into Hong Kong to attend the rally Tuesday.
Organisers expect it to be the largest since Hong Kong's handover with upwards of 500,000 people.
Hong Kong's immigration department said it would not comment on individual cases."
An interesting development.
Lessons for me are:
1. Mr Chen and his students' occupation of the Legislative Yuan to me is WRONG. Very very wrong. Occupying the Legislative Yuan by force is trespassing. It is disrespecting the very place where laws are passed in Taiwan. It is sheer contempt of the laws. It has NO PLACE in Singapore;
2. Hong Kong SAR is in a very delicate situation. The Hongkongers, and it seems like quite a large number of them, wants full democratic election of their legislators and law makers. An idea that is foreign to the Chinese masters and really a scary idea actually. Hongkong SAR IS part of PRC. The unique 1-Country-2-Systems rules will come to pass in 33 years (the balance of 50 years from 1997). During this period will HK SAR get's its wish of a full democratic election of its officials? UNLIKELY unless PRC has it first, which is wishful thinking at best based on current reading;
3. YET, the turnout demanding such democratic election see big number in exceeds of a few hundred thousands. So, it is a voice NOT to be ignored BUT YET history and circumstance as it is today WILL NOT allow it to go further. I dread that the day of collision will come when those who REALLY want full democracy will be crashed should push come to shaft.
Singapore does not need this kind of democracy. We need voters who will exercise their votes at the General Election based on whichever political parties can convince them that they have a better solution than the others to provide a peaceful, harmonious, stable and prosperous environment for the majority of the voters to live, work, play and retire happily and healthily.
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