Flight of HK protesters piles pressure on Taiwan
For some Hong Kong protesters, stripped of their passports and facing criminal charges, a perilous 600km sea journey to Taiwan is their only hope of escape.
For Taiwan, which includes promised assist with the persons of Hong Kong but is wary of antagonizing China, this brings a dilemma. People started fleeing to Taiwan from the first months of the Hong Kong protests last year, mostly legally by air, sometimes by vessel, said activists in Taipei who have helped Hong Kong residents obtain visas.
Numbering a few hundred, they included persons who took part in the pro-democracy protests, together with clergy, social personnel and other people who offered care and support to protesters.
This year, coronavirus-related travel restrictions and China's new national security law, which was imposed on Hong Kong on June 30 and handed the police and Chinese security agents sweeping powers, have narrowed the protesters' options to leave and sharply reduced the numbers fleeing to Taiwan to some dozen.
The most desperate are taking their chances by sea. Previously month, China stopped a boat carrying 12 people, and Taiwan intercepted a craft carrying five close to the Taiwan-controlled Pratas Islands in the South China Sea. Several sources with understanding of the smuggling procedure said at least twelve more pro-democracy activists have reached Taiwan by boat.
These crossings have brought some "comfort" to the mostly young, pro-democracy activists who fled to Taiwan prior to the Hong Kong security law took effect, said one. "We have always felt guilty about running away." Those left behind in Hong Kong had two options - to handle trial or to try to flee. "It's a choice between hope and hopelessness. Of course some have chosen to risk their lives at sea." This person and other activists, speaking on condition of anonymity, described a small-scale operation, organized by individuals in Hong Kong and Taiwan, to ferry protesters across the typhoon-prone South China Sea.
The few risking the journey have already been charged with crimes such as for example arson and rioting by Hong Kong authorities and had their passports confiscated. Hong Kong has so far charged over 600 persons with rioting, which carries up to a 10-year jail term. The crossing, that can take greater than a day, is fraught with risks. Driving a speedboat under cover of night brings the danger of collision with submerged rocks and buoys.
Addititionally there is the threat of detection. In Hong Kong waters, police marine patrols are frequently seen among the fishing trawlers, container ships, pleasure craft and speedboats. Stepped up Chinese military patrols and training exercises in the South China Sea around Hong Kong have increased the chance of interception.
At least twelve other protesters, who own travel documents, attended by air lately, despite the suspension of all Taiwan visa applications because of the coronavirus.
Taiwan said in June that it would allow Hong Kong residents to use for entry based on "special humanitarian considerations".The Taiwan government declined to state how many persons from Hong Kong have already been granted residency or entry. It has repeatedly said anyone who enters the island must do so legally.
"I bought a return ticket and carried plenty of luggage, trying everything I could to act such as a normal traveller," said one person who flew to Taiwan on a commercial flight, describing a vacation hastily arranged prior to the Hong Kong security law came into force. "It had been such a relief as soon as I boarded the Taiwanese aircraft. I knew I was safe finally."
The Taiwan government faces a hard balancing act. It really wants to help Hong Kong residents who flee to the island, legally or illegally, nonetheless it is increasingly wary of doing so within an overt way in the event this prompts a forceful backlash from China - including possible military action, said three sources with direct understanding of government thinking.
Reuters questions to Taiwan's government were described the Cabinet-level Mainland Affairs Council, which oversees China and Hong Kong policy. The Council declined to touch upon what it called "rumours". It said in a statement that the federal government has generated a mechanism of "humanitarian assistance" to provide necessary help to those people who are qualified, but it didn't elaborate.
"That is like solving a simultaneous equation," said ruling Democratic Progressive Party parliamentarian Hung Sun-han, speaking by himself account. "We must give considerations to human rights, but we also have to handle the tense relations between China and Taiwan."
Tensions over the Taiwan Strait have spiked since President Tsai Ing-wen was re-elected by a landslide in January on a promise to endure Beijing, which includes never renounced using force to bring Taiwan - which it sees as a renegade province - under its control.
Tsai pledged assist with persons arriving from Hong Kong, including setting up an office to help with employment, living allowances and counselling. But that was weeks before the introduction of Hong Kong's security law, and little was known of its contents and implications. The law makes anything Beijing regards as subversion, secession, terrorism or collusion with foreign forces punishable by up to life in prison.
Recently, Taiwan has been coy about the extent of the aid it has given. The Taiwan government has several concerns, based on the three sources. It generally does not wish to be accused of helping persons Beijing says are violent criminals. Taiwan also fears Chinese military threats against the Taiwan-controlled Pratas Islands, two of the three sources said.
One scenario Taiwan authorities fear is that China could seize Taiwan's Pratas Islands - the Taiwan-controlled but lightly defended territory closest to Hong Kong - in a drastic escalation of tensions that could result in a war, two senior officials acquainted with the situation said.
Taiwan has repeatedly complained of Chinese military activities in the region, including rare large-scale air and naval drills held near to the Pratas Islands on Sept 9 and 10 which Taiwan called a significant provocation and Beijing described as a necessity to safeguard its sovereignty.
In mid-September, during US Undersecretary for Economic Affairs Keith Krach's visit to Taipei, China sent multiple jets to cross the sensitive mid-line of the Taiwan Strait and also into Taiwan's air defence identification zone near to the Pratas.
Taiwan says Chinese aircraft have continued to fly close to the Pratas since that time. A mainland Chinese official who spoke with Reuters said delicate diplomacy between Taiwan and China was needed, as a policy misstep could result in military conflict.
"We never discuss war, but we should be familiar with this danger," said the state, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
In the home in Taiwan, meanwhile, there is growing popular pressure for Tsai's government to do more to greatly help Hong Kong residents, for instance by introducing a law that could guarantee refuge to Hong Kong residents and by promising not to detain persons arriving illegally by boat.
The three people acquainted with government thinking described a technique of offering support discreetly, what some call "do more, say less".
They said Taiwan offers concrete help - entry visas as an example - without drawing accusations from China of collusion with Hong Kong "separatists".
Still, reports of smuggling are "very tricky to handle and it has taken us a lot of trouble", said one of the sources, talking about growing pressure from China, without elaborating. "But Taiwan will stick to the principle of not sending persons back."
This source said Taiwan is "blurring out" information on what the federal government called "humanitarian assistance" to Hong Kong residents to ensure that it becomes impossible for the general public and media to verify reports of illegal entry.
"To rescue people, we must stay as quiet as possible... Keeping it low profile is the only way to safeguard people." Pressure on Taiwan from Chinese politicians and state media is mounting.
On Sept 14, former Hong Kong leader Leung Chun-ying questioned in a Facebook post why Taiwan withheld information on the whereabouts of the five persons picked up by Taiwan's coast guard near to the Pratas Islands.
Leung, now a vice-chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) - China's top advisory body - told Reuters it was vital that you know the identities of the five to determine "if they are fugitives or have absconded from court proceedings".
Hong Kong also likely to find out under what charges they were detained, if they would now be released, prosecuted or deported and what access they must legal assistance, he said.
Also on Sept 14, the Hong Kong Security Bureau, in charge of security and police, called on Taiwan never to "harbor criminals".
Separately, four officials at Taiwan's de facto consulate in Hong Kong have already been told by the Hong Kong government that their visas will never be renewed on the lands that they refused to acknowledge Beijing's declare that Taiwan is part of "one China", Reuters reported in July. All four have left the town.
China's Taiwan Affairs Office didn't directly address a question from Reuters about the visa issue. It said it supported metropolis government's "handling of Taiwan related matters in Hong Kong".
It accused authorities in Taipei of "colluding" with independence and anti-China forces. "Any actions that bring chaos to Hong Kong or seek independence will be severely punished by the law," it said.
Among the three people with knowledge of the Taiwan government's thinking explained, "We don't want the Communist Party to find a justification to take revenge on Taiwanese persons in Hong Kong or China. You want to offer real help" to Hong Kong residents "without making ourselves vulnerable to China on the national security level".
Those leaving Hong Kong by boat monitor weather conditions before they depart. White capped waves and prevailing winds can hinder the passage, which makes it difficult to achieve higher speeds and pushing up fuel consumption.
The sources acquainted with the smuggling operation described a dangerous route where at least one boat that tripped from Hong Kong had lost communications with their contacts.
"People kept searching and searching through all channels... However the fact was that these were lost," said among the people. There were no records of such trips and Reuters cannot independently verify the claim.
Protesters, a few of whom have managed to get to Taiwan, say they are grateful for Tsai's pledges of help. "Taiwan isn't just a place where they are able to take some respite. It's where they could gain strength to fight China's totalitarian rule," said among the people acquainted with the smuggling operation.
