After repeated urges and a long wait, the Hong Kong Humanitarian Aid Project, being in the limelight in both Hong Kong and Taiwan, has finally come up with more substantial content. Can the Taiwan-Hong Kong Office for Exchanges and Services, whose establishment has been jointly announced by the Mainland Affairs Council’s minister Chan Ming-tong and deputy minister Chiu Chui-Cheng, effectively help Hong Kong protestors seeking asylum in Taiwan? In the post-pandemic period, when things are unpredictable on the international front, the Taiwanese government’s move has profound implications and impact.

The importance of the new office is self-evident. Behind its innocuous name that
signifies exchanges and solicitude is a channel, a specific department dedicated to Hong Kong’s political refugees coming to Taiwan, after the eruption of the anti- extradition protests and Beijing’s decision to introduce a Hong Kong version of the national security law in Hong Kong. Taiwan’s move came right after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and veteran Chinese diplomat Yang Jiechi met in Hawaii but failed to reach any consensus, and when Beijing expedited the review of the national security legislation by the National People’s Congress Standing Committee. It also came at a time when Hong Kong’s education sector, rule of law, and civilian rights are deteriorating sharply in the face of authoritarianism. Taiwan is standing at the forefront of the new Cold War, declaring that “To stand with Hong Kong is to stand with Taiwan”. This indicates the Taiwanese government has finally departed from its conservative strategy characterised by slow responses and a wait-and-see approach. It has come to the judgment that Hong Kong’s situation will only continue to deteriorate. Concurrently, the Tsai Ing-wen’s administration is hoping to grasp the opportunity to attract capital and
talent that would benefit Taiwan socially and economically.

System unaffected by the rotation of political parties

The Office for Exchanges and Services is under the Taiwan-HK Economic and Cultural Cooperation Council, which was founded when Ma Ying-jeou was in power And was incipiently designed to play the role of “white gloves” facilitating exchanges between Taiwan and Hong Kong. In recent years, the official relations between Taiwan and Hong Kong have been in decline and the scopes of interactions between both sides restricted. There has been a high level of personnel overlapping between the cooperation council and the Mainland Affairs Council. The two entities are, in practice, the same troop under two signboards. The fact that the office is situated next to the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy, which is under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, reflects the planning mindset of the government’s senior staff. Among the three groups administered by the office, the
most crucial and highly delicate one is the Project Management Team, responsible for the “Aid and Care Project”. Not much is known about the project’s content and
procedure guidelines, which are deliberately kept under wraps and would definitely be debated by all levels of society.

At present, Taiwan, Britain, and Australia are the major destinations for migration or asylum of Hong Kong people. On the premise that public expenditure would not be raised by any increase in welfare spending, Britain is extending the rights of British National Overseas Passport (BNO) holders and their families to enter and stay in the UK. Comparatively, Australia is selectively providing temporary asylum to Hong Kong people. As a whole, Hong Kong people who intend to leave and are capable of leaving are those who are privileged socially and economically.

According to existing data, in the year since the anti-extradition protest, as many as 9,000 people in Hong Kong have been arrested. Among them, 40 per cent are students, and there are also professionals like teachers and social workers. More people are expected to be arrested after the national security law takes effect in Hong Kong. For the Office for Exchanges and Services to effectively assist Hong Kong people, there are a few keys.

Firstly, it is necessary to recognize that young political refugees and immigrants who come to Taiwan by virtue of investments or their profession skills are intrinsically different. More often the former need prioritized assistance provided by the government.

Secondly, to the economic immigrants who come to Taiwan for political reasons, the “customized” service proposed by the Office is no doubt very thoughtful, but it is impossible to bring radical changes to the domestic market. To properly grasp new opportunities, the government needs to start from reforming Taiwan’s economy.

Thirdly, restricted by the political reality that Hong Kong is a special administrative region of China, Taiwan can hardly take it upon itself to “rescue” individuals in Hong Kong. However, the government’s overseas offices should remain flexible, proactively “assisting” overseas Hongkongers to be transferred to Taiwan through certain procedures.

Fourthly, in the long run the office must be properly prepared to respond to
deteriorating situations in Hong Kong, and not allow itself to be affected by Taiwan’s election politics and which party is in charge.

Taiwan-Hong Kong directly facing totalitarian China

Setting up the office requires Taiwan to pay a political price: cross-strait relations and Taiwan-Hong Kong relations will be jeopardized. In the long term, it will also constitute a burden on the government budget. Still Taiwan ought to do this. Why? In fact, I believe not many people consider Taiwan “owes” Hong Kong anything, and it is not exactly a matter of fulfilling a purely moral obligation to bring Taiwanese and Hong Kong people together. Simply speaking, Taiwan and Hong Kong are left with no choice, being in close proximity to an increasingly totalitarian China with expanding influence. Taiwan used to take in swarms of refugees, and it is struggling to survive in the international community. “If not here, nowhere else.” Such is the status quo for people in Hong Kong as well as Taiwan.

(Yeh Kuo Hao, Guest Lecturer, Faculty of Social Science, The Chinese University of Hong Kong)

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