Taiwan activists demand release of detained Hong Kong students

Taiwan university students and some Non-Governmental Organisations, on Thursday called on the Hong Kong authorities to release detained pro-democracy students.

They also urged the Taiwan Government to offer more assistance to Hong Kong people seeking asylum.

The calls came a day after four students from the students’ union of the University of Hong Kong (HKU) were arrested under the national security law, for allegedly advocating terrorism.

They had paid tribute to a lone wolf attacker who killed himself after he stabbed a police officer on July 1.

In a news conference live streamed on Facebook, Huang Ting-wei of the National Students’ Union of Taiwan said that the arrest of the students on campus demonstrated that the authorities were destroying Hong Kong’s next generation and the country’s future.

Wu Rwei-ren, a researcher at the Academia Sinica’s Institute of Taiwan History, said the situation was similar to Taiwan’s university campuses during decades-long authoritarian rule under the martial law, which was lifted in 1987.

Wu criticised HKU President Zhang Xiang and other leaders for their support of the alleged Chinese suppression in Hong Kong.

He urged the Taipei-based Academia Sinica to revoke Zhang’s title of an academician.

Pro-democracy groups had earlier expressed concern over arbitrary arrests and human rights violations in Hong Kong.

They noted that the arrest of the student was uncalled for as they had earlier apologised.

Sang Pu, a lawyer heading the Taiwan Hong Kong Association, urged Taiwan to offer more assistance to Hong Kong exiles.