Tsai Visits HK Bookseller As Lawmakers Slam Law Move

Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen visited the Taipei bookstore of mainland kidnap victim Lam Wing-kee on Friday as a show of support for the Hong Kong people, as major parties in Taiwan's legislature issued a rare joint statement denouncing the national security law Beijing is planning to impose on the SAR.

The ruling and opposition parties said they were issuing the statement out of a grave concern that Beijing's move will lead to a rapid deterioration of the situation in Hong Kong and affect the rights and freedoms of SAR residents, the island's Central News Agency (CNA) reported.

"We hereby express our deep regret and strong condemnation concerning mainland China's attempts to enforce its version of a national security law in Hong Kong by circumventing the territory's Legislative Council, as Beijing would be reneging on its promise of 'a high degree of autonomy' for 50 years in Hong Kong," CNA quoted the lawmakers as saying.

The legislators also urged Taiwan to provide assistance to the people of Hong Kong, saying they strongly support Hongkongers' pursuit of the universal values of freedom, democracy and human rights.

Tsai said earlier this week that her administration would draw up a plan to give humanitarian relief to those involved in Hong Kong's pro-democracy protests, including help with accommodation and employment for people fleeing to Taiwan.

On Friday, she visited a bookstore in Taipei which was recently opened by Lam, one of the five Hong Kong booksellers who was kidnapped in 2015 and was later found to be in detention on the mainland.

She told Lam that the books he was selling at his "Causeway Bay Books" store looked good and she would have to come back for another look around. She also wrote a note to stick up at the shop saying "Free Taiwan supports Hong Kong's freedom".

"Today I visited the Causeway Bay Books in Taipei to welcome Lam Wing-kee on behalf of the people of Taiwan & thank the people of Hong Kong for their commitment to freedom & democracy," Tsai said on Twitter afterwards.

Lam fled to Taiwan last year saying he feared that he would be handed over to mainland authorities under the new extradition law the SAR government was planning to introduce. The proposed law, which sparked the unrest in Hong Kong that has now lasted for almost a year, was later withdrawn.