Taiwan march to support arrested Hong Kongers

(25 Oct 2020) Hundreds of people marched in Taiwan's capital on Sunday to demand the release of 12 Hong Kong anti-government protesters who were arrested by mainland Chinese authorities in August. The 12 were allegedly travelling illegally by boat to Taiwan when Chinese authorities detained them. They are now facing formal charges for illegal border crossings in Shenzhen, a southern Chinese city that borders Hong Kong, a semi-autonomous Chinese territory. In the crowd in Taipei on Sunday were activists from several Taiwanese organizations, as well as other residents of the self-ruled democratic island and many Hong Kongers. With many dressed in black and wearing face masks, they marched through the city, holding up balloons spelling out "Save 12." "They are like every one of us here right now," said Lin Fei-fan, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) deputy secretary-general, addressing the protesters. "We should all be free individuals who are able to realize our dreams." Taiwan and China split amid civil war in 1949, and Beijing has cut off ties with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen's government over her refusal to accept its demand that she recognize the island as part of China. Beijing wants Taiwan to be unified with the mainland eventually under the same “one country, two systems” policy set up for Hong Kong. Tsai's election last January to a second, four-year term came after the repression of last year's pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong solidified public opinion in Taiwan against moves toward accepting rule by Beijing. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...