Letters | Hong Kong’s true friend in Taiwan is the Kuomintang

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Supporters of Kuomintang presidential candidate Han Kuo-yu at his election campaign in Taipei on January 9. Han was defeated by the DPP’s Tsai Ing-wen who was re-elected for a second term. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 6:15am, 27 Jun 2020Updated: 6:15am, 27 Jun 2020

Many people in Hong Kong and Taiwan have long held that the Kuomintang (KMT) is a pro-China party (“To win back Taiwan, KMT must return to its anti-communist roots”, June 22). In their minds, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) represents democracy and freedom. When Kaohsiung citizens removed Han Kuo-yu as their mayor, many people even interpreted this as a failure of President Xi Jinping’s Taiwan policy.

However, these perceptions are not accurate, as the KMT has always supported democracy and freedom. Also, it has never accepted the “one country, two systems” principle proposed by Beijing. It is unfair to perceive the KMT and Han as being pro-Beijing simply because they want to have trade relations with mainland China.

Recently, Beijing said it would introduce a version of the national security law in Hong Kong. Among the several political parties in Taiwan, the KMT was the first to support the amendment of the law to assist Hong Kong people.

Conversely, the DPP, which young people consider a benchmark of democracy and freedom, did not propose an amendment. It says Taiwan’s existing laws and regulations are sufficient to protect Hong Kong people.

Currently, if Hongkongers come to Taiwan to seek asylum, the Taiwan government can only act in accordance with Article 18 of Laws and Regulations Regarding Hong Kong and Macau Affairs. However, the article is vague and only states that the Taiwan government can provide necessary aid when political factors urgently threaten Hong Kong and Macau people’s security and freedom.

Hong Kong people should understand that KMT is the party in Taiwan that takes real and practical action to protect Hong Kong people.