For some Hong Kong protesters, stripped of their passports and facing criminal charges, a perilous 600 km sea journey to Taiwan is their only hope of escape. For Taiwan, which has promised assistance to the people of Hong Kong but is wary of antagonising China, this brings a dilemma.

People began fleeing to Taiwan from the early months of the Hong Kong protests last year, mostly legally by air, sometimes by fishing boat, said activists in Taipei who have helped Hong Kong citizens obtain visas. Numbering a few hundred, they included people who took part in the pro-democracy protests, as well as clergy, social workers and others who offered care and support to protesters.