Hong Kong students and emigrants in Taiwan have been buying helmets, goggles, umbrellas, plastic wrap and Band-Aids in bulk and couriering them to pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong.
Meanwhile, authorities in mainland China have reportedly been intercepting Hong Kong-bound parcels containing similar items bound for Hong Kong as the protests show no sign of slowing down in the former British territory.
Hongkongers in Taiwan say Beijing has told mainland package service companies like SF Express to step up checks of the contents of parcels before delivering them to people in Hong Kong.
With helmets and other items running out in Hong Kong as more people join the rallies, Taiwan has become the main source of supplies thanks to its geographical proximity, and more importantly, the islandâs pro-Hong Kong ethos and its sympathetic government.
Hong Kong students have also been accepting donations of second-hand items from locals, coordinated by an organization called Hong Kong Outlanders. A campaign in Kaohsiung saw an outpouring of help as many waited in line to donate, resulting in more than 1,000 helmets, caps and other supplies. Even gas masks were donated, according to the Liberty Times.
The campaign also collected more than NT$1 million (US$31,600) in cash, which would be spent on buying items and paying for deliveries to Hong Kong.
Similar events were to be held on the main campus of the National Taiwan University, in busy shopping precincts in Taipei and in other urban centers across the island.
Organizers have been looking for more secure ways to send the items to Hong Kong, and the preference hs been to courier the parcels via the islandâs state-owned Chunghwa Post, instead of the local branch of a mainland company.
Helmets and other protective gear are in short supply in Hong Kong as opponents to an extradition bill to China and protesters and the policeâs anti-riot squads battle for control of the streets and public spaces. Rubber bullets and tear gas canisters have been fired by police in many districts of the former British colony.
Meanwhile, a recent poll of eligible voters in Taiwan revealed that a majority of the 1,100-plus interviewed supported the protesters in Hong Kong as well as President Tsai Ing-wenâs steadfast rejection of Beijingâs offer of âone country, two systems.â
#Taiwan & the rest of the world are closely watching developments in the #HongKongProtests. As President of a country that walked the long road to democracy, I urge the #HongKong government to address the legitimate concerns of the people & their pursuit of freedom & democracy. pic.twitter.com/x2t8XNO1au — è¡è±æ Tsai Ing-wen (@iingwen) July 2, 2019
The survey, conducted by the National Chengchi Universityâs Election Study Center and commissioned by the Executive Yuanâs Mainland Affairs Council, showed that 65% of respondents backed Tsaiâs condemnations of the Hong Kong governmentâs clampdown on demonstrators and Beijingâs strangling of the cityâs freedoms it once promised to respect.
An overwhelming 88% of those surveyed said Taiwan must spurn the âone country, two systemsâ proposal, an increase of more than 10 percentage points from a previous survey in March. Many Taiwanese voters have been galvanized by what they see happening in Hong Kong.
Hong Kongâs protracted protests throughout the past two months have become a test of will for both the people and the government, after a rally against an amendment bill that would have enabled the rendition of people to mainland China widened into a groundswell calling for democracy, defending the cityâs liberty as well as the resignation of the cityâs top leader Carrie Lam.
JayMUTV on August 5th, 2019 at 15:00 UTC »
If u don't know what happened:
Basically everything happened due to the controversial extradition bill issued by the government, where the Chinese government could extract anyone who is suspected to have committed a crime in other places who have escaped to Hong Kong. The original motive is great, but China is famous for abusing law loopholes and oppress people's views by making them magically "disappear back into the Mainland" with a crime that they really didn't commit (see the Causeway Bay Bookshop Event or the 劉曉波 event). This has struck fear into millions of hongkongers and has contradicted with the "one country, two political systems" system. Freedom of speech is in great danger, and anything wrong said could get you imprisoned somewhere in China. And as the protests go on, the police have been linked with teaming up with gangsters and beating up people who weren't even protesting (including pregnant women). The police even shot someone in the eye and detonated tear gas in front of an elderly household. This is totally outrageous. People began constructing messages and banners on walls of subways to support the protesters in the form of a "Lennon Wall" (inspired by the Beatles). On the 5th of August, protests happened in 7 districts in Hong Kong and 1/3 flights were cancelled due to the work stoppage protectors.
TLDR the government messed up hard and nobody's happy.
distilledwill on August 5th, 2019 at 14:18 UTC »
Interesting article about the various innovative methods which Hong Kong protesters are employing to achieve their aims:
https://www.newstatesman.com/world/2019/08/be-water-seven-tactics-are-winning-hong-kongs-democracy-revolution
autotldr on August 5th, 2019 at 11:02 UTC »
This is the best tl;dr I could make, original reduced by 85%. (I'm a bot)
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