Taiwan President addresses Hong Kongers, tells them to 'keep faith in democracy'

Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen acknowledged the pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong in a Lunar Year message on February 10 and urged them to “keep faith” and “don’t give up”. She said that even though democracy is not perfect, it is human kind’s best system. Democratic Taiwan has appeared to become a safe haven for many Hong Kong residents who fled the city under the Chinese government’s control over the stringent clampdown on the dissent after Beijing introduced a new tough security law last year following several months of demonstrations. 

Tsai, President of Taiwan, the island that China still considers to be its own territory, offered a sense of support for the protesters who led the gruesome, lengthy independence movement in Hong Kong that joined China under ‘One Country, Two Systems’ arrangement. Taiwan President’s remarks can irk China as Beijing has denounced the island for encouraging violence and criminality. 

In a message on Wednesday, a day before Thursday’s Lunar Year eve, that also marks the most important holiday in the Chinese-speaking world, Tsai expressed gratitude towards “many friends who speak Cantonese” and follow her on Facebook. The language is most widely spokes by Hong Kongers. 

“Please believe that although the democratic system is perhaps not perfect, it remains to date the best system for human society. Please keep the faith and don’t give up,” she said in Mandarin, then switched to Cantonese to say “happy new year”.

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Tsai expresses best wishes to China

On Tuesday, Taiwan President even extended her wishes to China for the new year while also stressing that she would not give in to Chinese pressure. Tsai reiterated a call for dialogue to resume with the Chinese government, a move previously dismissed by Beijing outrightly. China has also blamed Tsai’s democratic government for triggering the current tensions between the island and the mainland. Meanwhile, China has also stepped up its military activity near Taiwan especially in the recent months and last week, the Chinese government official noted that ‘independence means war’.

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