It may have been two years since civil unrest broke out across Hong Kong over a now-withdrawn extradition bill, but a young student protester said that the memories of being chased by police officers still remained fresh in the minds of many who participated in the demonstrations.

The student, who goes by the alias Hkerleftourhome, said he still dreams about Hong Kong police officers knocking on his door to arrest him. He joined the protests in 2019 and is now in self-exile in Taiwan.

Many others who took part in the protests and have remained in Hong Kong had similar worries, especially with the city’s political persecution showing no signs of abating, he said during an online press conference on Wednesday. The event was held by pro-democracy group Taiwan Stands With Hong Kong.

Approximately 1 million Hongkongers took to the streets on June 9, 2019, to oppose the government’s proposed extradition bill, which would have allowed suspects to be sent to mainland China for trial. The protest spilled over to other issues, including universal suffrage and the police’s excessive use of force on demonstrators.

Those who spoke at Wednesday’s conference urged Taiwan to enhance mechanisms to support pro-democracy Hongkongers.

Hong Kong was a staunch ally of Taiwan in the fight against mainland China, and as such, authorities should provide refuge for those seeking political asylum, said Chiang Min-yen of the Economic Democracy Union. The self-ruled island also needed to devise ways to bar pro-Beijing businesses from entry, Chiang added.

Legislator Freddy Lim said Taiwan should work on its own version of the Magnitsky Act to join international efforts to sanction officials who infringe on human rights in Hong Kong.

The deputy secretary-general of the Taiwan Association for Human Rights, Wang Si, said the island needed to set up clear procedures for accepting Hongkongers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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