October 25 Stand with Hong Kong March: Global Solidarity for the 12 Hongkongers - Advocate an Asia-Pacific Court of Human Rights and Push Back Against Hong Kong's National Security Law

Taiwanese civil society groups are joining the "Save 12 Hong Kong Youths" campaign by organizing a Stand with Hong Kong march on Sunday, October 25, starting at Zhongxiao Fuxing MRT Station in Taipei, and proceeding to the Hong Kong Economic, Trade and Cultural Office to present their demands. The route will pass the Bank of China building. Organizers are calling on people across Taiwan to show solidarity, join the march, and demand that China immediately release the 12 Hongkongers.

The groups organizing the march held a pre-event press conference today (the 22nd). Li Peng-Hsuan, chairperson of Hong Kong Outlanders, explained that the October 25 march was timed to mark two months since the 12 Hongkongers were secretly detained in China and to join a coordinated global campaign pressing the Chinese government. On August 23, 12 Hong Kong protesters involved in the anti-extradition movement were reportedly arrested by Chinese authorities while attempting to reach Taiwan. They have still been unable to speak with their families or meet lawyers retained by their families. Chinese authorities instead appointed lawyers for them and charged them with "illegally crossing the border" and "organizing others to illegally cross the border."

Li Peng-Hsuan said China's judicial process is opaque, marked by secretive proceedings and the risk of torture, while the condition of the 12 Hongkongers remains unknown. The march also calls on the Taiwan government to fully honor its commitment to support Hong Kong: Taiwan should provide assistance to Hongkongers in urgent need who reach the country by any route, and gradually establish an explicit and confidential mechanism that protects their basic human rights in Taiwan.

Before the march, the Tsai Jui-Yueh Dance Research Institute will perform "Puppets Take the Stage," using the image of a mother who lost her child during the White Terror to evoke Hong Kong's current plight. Civil society groups also called on Malaysia, host of this year's APEC meeting, to allow President Tsai Ing-Wen and National Human Rights Commission Chairperson Chen Chu to attend the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting and advocate the establishment of an "Asia-Pacific Court of Human Rights" , using a regional human-rights protection system to push back against China's authoritarian expansion and the threat posed by Hong Kong's National Security Law. The organizers also urged all political parties to continue paying attention to Hong Kong amid international turmoil and to join Sunday's march. Supporting Hong Kong, they said, also means supporting Taiwan; only international solidarity can effectively constrain dangerous actions by the Chinese government.

Global Solidarity for the 12 Hongkongers: Taiwan Will Keep Standing with Hong Kong

Justine, secretary-general of Hong Kong Outlanders, stated that over 20 cities this weekend are responding to the global coordinated campaign "International Action, Solidarity with 12 Hongkongers," and Taiwan's October 25 Stand with Hong Kong march is one of them. Justine noted that two million people marched in Hong Kong in 2019 against the extradition bill. Now 12 young Hongkongers have effectively been "sent to China" and subjected to China's opaque judicial process, making it all the more important not to forget their names.

Justine said the Chinese government is steadily narrowing Hong Kong's freedoms, but overseas supporters of Hong Kong will only work harder. She thanked people in Taiwan in particular, noting that from the 2019 anti-extradition movement through the imposition of Hong Kong's National Security Law in 2020, the international community-including Taiwan-has continued to stand with Hong Kong. She urged people in Taiwan to come out this Sunday and stand with Hong Kong through concrete action.

Hong Kong political commentator and attorney Sang Pu described the 12 young Hongkongers secretly detained by China, including a 30-year-old salesperson and a 29-year-old computer engineer, both assigned government-selected lawyers, as well as a 16-year-old protester who has also been denied access to family and counsel. All have been deprived of basic human-rights protections. Under Chinese rules, lawyers are required to support Communist Party leadership-a widely known reality. Sang argued that the stronger the international attention, the greater the chance of influencing how China treats the 12 Hongkongers and even affecting its policy choices.

Using Taiwan's International Leverage: Start with Protection for Hongkongers and an Asia-Pacific Court of Human Rights

Wang Hsi, legal director of the Taiwan Association for Human Rights, said that as a democratic country committed to freedom, Taiwan must ensure basic human rights for anyone who reaches its territory seeking asylum. Basic human rights do not depend on whether a person entered legally or illegally, she emphasized; that is a defining difference between democratic Taiwan and authoritarian China.

Drawing on other countries' experience, Wang noted that states with statutory refugee systems, including the United States and Canada, do not deprive people of the right to seek refugee status merely because they entered unlawfully. She argued that for asylum seekers arriving through any route, the Taiwan government should observe case-specific ethics and strict confidentiality, and begin establishing a clear legal framework to protect their basic human rights. She cited the draft Refugee Act proposed by the Taiwan Association for Human Rights this year. In addition to the basic principle of non-refoulement, Article 11 provides that a foreign or stateless person who entered without authorization and has applied for refugee-status determination is not subject to Article 74 of the Immigration Act, expressly exempting asylum seekers from criminal liability that might otherwise arise from unauthorized entry.

Chiang Min-Yen (江旻諺), a researcher at the Economic Democracy Union, stated that the Hong Kong National Security Law enacted by China's National People's Congress has endangered the personal freedom of business professionals, students studying in Hong Kong, workers, tourists, and transit passengers from various countries, making it truly necessary to incorporate human rights mechanisms into the planning of the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP). He explained that the FTAAP is the primary tool for APEC member economies to achieve economic integration and the Bogor Goals since the joint Bogor Declaration in 1994 and the 2010 Yokohama Leaders' Declaration, declaring the goal of completing trade and investment liberalization by 2020.

Chiang Min-Yen emphasized that Taiwan is an APEC member economy and therefore cannot be excluded from the planning, negotiation, or eventual establishment of the FTAAP. As this year marks the Bogor Declaration's original target year, Taiwan should seek participation by President Tsai Ing-Wen and National Human Rights Commission Chairperson Chen Chu at the APEC summit and advocate incorporating an Asia-Pacific Court of Human Rights into the FTAAP framework.

Chiang Min-Yen added that the U.S.-China trade war shows that the key to future regional economic integration will no longer be tariff reductions alone, but dispute-resolution mechanisms for cross-border economic and trade conflicts. These include mechanisms for investment and intellectual-property disputes, as well as human-rights problems arising from cross-border movement-for example, where Philippine telecommunications-fraud suspects should be repatriated, or whether people such as Li Ming-Che, Li Meng-Chu, and the Causeway Bay Books owners, who have been secretly detained or deprived of liberty in China, can seek judicial relief. Taiwan should draw on the European Union's experience and allow an Asia-Pacific Court of Human Rights to integrate human-rights values into regional integration and economic cooperation.

Countering China's Wolf Warrior Diplomacy: The Determination to Stand with Hong Kong Will Not Change

Chen Wei-Tsung, a Hong Kong student in Taiwan and president of the Chinese Culture University Student Association, said the Hong Kong government's statements on the 12 Hongkongers have been contradictory. Authorities initially claimed to know nothing about the case, but members of the public later discovered that Hong Kong police had dispatched an aircraft to monitor the group until they were detained by Chinese coast guard authorities. Chen said the episode, like the assault on a Taiwanese diplomat in Fiji, showed China's increasingly aggressive conduct abroad. He called on Taiwan and Hong Kong to stand together against the threat of China's wolf warrior diplomacy.

Huang Yen-Cheng, deputy secretary-general of the Taiwan Student Federation, said the anti-extradition movement helped Taiwanese students realize that democracy in Taiwan cannot be taken for granted and prompted greater civic participation. He also praised the extraordinary moral courage shown by university students in Thailand's recent protests. Yet Taiwan has seen a series of disturbing incidents, including paint attacks on Denise Ho and Lam Wing-Kee and the dumping of filth at the Aegis restaurant. Even in democratic Taiwan, Hongkongers have not been free from fear. Huang called on more young people to take to the streets, show China that Taiwan's commitment to Hong Kong remains unchanged, and offer Hongkongers direct support.

Attendees

Justine|Secretary-General, Hong Kong Outlanders
Wang Hsi|Legal Director, Taiwan Association for Human Rights
Chiang Min-Yen|Researcher, Economic Democracy Union; Secretary-General, Taiwan Citizen Front
Sang Pu|Hong Kong Political Commentator; Attorney
Chen Wei-Tsung|President, Chinese Culture University Student Association; Hongkonger in Taiwan
Huang Yen-Cheng|Deputy Secretary-General, Taiwan Student Federation

Media Contact

Li Peng-Hsuan|Chairperson, Hong Kong Outlanders