Overseas Hong Kongers Plan Democratically Elected Parliament in Exile

TaiwanPlus News

A group called the Hong Kong Parliament Electoral Organizing Committee has introduced a new plan to elect a parliament in exile to reclaim the sovereignty they say Beijing has taken from them.

Transcript

00:00putting forward an unusual plan to hand back democracy to Hongkongers.

00:05Members of a group called the Hong Kong Parliament Electoral Organizing Committee

00:09are in Taipei to announce their intention to hold elections,

00:12aiming to form a parliament-in-exile to represent all Hongkongers.

00:16Who owns Hong Kong's sovereignty? Hongkongers.

00:20Not the CCP or the UK.

00:22So now we must stand up, Hongkongers must stand up,

00:26and reclaim our sovereignty.

00:28The group plans to hold elections in March using a mobile app.

00:32Anyone born or who has lived in Hong Kong for seven or more years

00:35will be able to vote, as will their children.

00:38Up for grabs, seats for 35 parliament members,

00:41who themselves don't need to be presently living in Hong Kong.

00:45This is the first time they're releasing a declaration on their plans for a Hong Kong parliament.

00:49And they're doing it here in Taiwan,

00:50in part because they say they admire this country's democratic system.

00:54The group says that Hong Kong should serve as a cautionary tale for Taiwan,

00:58which they warn could one day face the same fate.

01:01In the last few years, under Chinese rule, Hong Kong's freedoms have been curtailed,

01:06and its people's rights diminished.

01:08Beijing has also expanded control over its political and judicial system,

01:12despite assurances that it wouldn't.

01:15Recently, dozens of Hong Kong's pro-democracy leaders were sentenced to prison.

01:19Many Taiwanese feel a solidarity with Hong Kong,

01:22with Robert Tsao, one of the country's most successful businessmen,

01:25showing his support for these overseas Hongkongers.

01:29According to the plan,

01:31elected parliament members' first responsibility will be to draft a constitution,

01:35then to hold a referendum on that constitution,

01:38all part of an effort that this group says will give Hongkongers back their sovereignty.

01:43Howard Zhang and Keynes Kuranta for Taiwan Plus.

01:58For more UN videos visit www.un.org

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