On September 4, Taiwan's Presidential Office urged the Chinese Communist Party, and the Executive Yuan urged China and the Hong Kong government, to free wrongfully detained democracy activists as Joshua Wong faces possible life imprisonment. The Executive Yuan voiced its support for Wong after media reports that he could soon receive a heavy sentence, CNA reported.
What is Wong charged with? Wong is accused of conspiring to collude with foreign or external forces to endanger national security, and reports carried by CNA said he pleaded guilty again in court in recent days. Under the national security law, that offence carries a prison term of three to 10 years. Where the offence is judged to be grave, the sentence is 10 years or more, up to life imprisonment.
What did the Presidential Office say? Presidential Office spokesperson Kuo Ya-hui said the Chinese Communist Party and the Hong Kong government have long used authoritarian tools such as the "Hong Kong version" of the national security law to pursue endless political prosecutions against Wong and other Hong Kong democracy figures. Kuo said the prosecutions seriously infringe human rights and freedom, and again show that Hong Kong's democracy, rule of law and judicial independence are still being eroded. She said such political suppression has become a negative example for the international community, and called on the party to immediately stop suppressing dissent in the name of national security.
How did the Executive Yuan respond? Executive Yuan spokesperson Lee Hui-chih, speaking through a media messaging group, said China and the Hong Kong government have in recent years used the law to suppress democracy, human rights and free speech, severely eroding the city's democratic freedoms and judicial independence. She said the government calls on both to stop political suppression and to protect the basic human rights and freedom of speech of Hong Kong's people. Lee said this again shows that Taiwan can only safeguard democracy and freedom by firmly defending its sovereignty and strengthening national defence. She said the Executive Yuan had proposed a supplementary budget on September 3 that includes funds to strengthen defence combat capability and raise allowances for combat troops, and called on the Legislative Yuan to recognise the urgency of strengthening defence security and self-reliance and to pass it quickly.
