Art Exhibition in Taipei Shows Hong Kong's Struggle for Democracy

TaiwanPlus News

A new art exhibition in Taipei shows Hong Kong's desperate struggle for democracy and Beijing's crackdown on freedoms in the territory. But as China tightens its grip, Taiwan is reexamining its relationship with Hong Kongers.

Transcript

00:00An expression of Hong Kong's dwindling press freedom, origami made from one of the last

00:05ever pro-democracy newspapers in the city, now on display in Taiwan.

00:12Part of an exhibition showing how Hong Kong stood up to Chinese rule and demanded democracy

00:16and how Beijing brutally cracked down.

00:20Protest art like this could see Hong Kongers put in jail for subversion in their city.

00:25Organisers say free and democratic Taiwan has a responsibility to tell Hong Kong's story.

00:31Although China doesn't have to rule over Taiwan, but China has to affect Hong Kong's way.

00:39So this is why the Taiwan society is going to perform such a exhibition, or the same as

00:44with Hong Kong friends, to face a独裁 regime.

00:49Taiwan could face a fate just like Hong Kong's.

00:52China also claims Taiwan as its territory and threatens to take it by force.

00:57Many people here saw Hong Kong struggle as their own, supporting the city's pro-democracy

01:02activists as they stood up to the Chinese Communist Party.

01:07And when Beijing moved to suppress them, many dissidents found refuge in Taiwan.

01:13Taiwan's relationship with Hong Kongers is changing.

01:16Since the 2019 protests, the Chinese Communist Party or CCP has tightened its grip on Hong

01:21Kong, dismantling a once free press and independent legislature.

01:26And Hong Kongers in Taiwan are now being looked at with greater suspicion.

01:31When the revolution of our time started, Hong Kongers were seen as a defiance of the CCP.

01:40It is our sad fate that the identity of Hong Kongers is slowly changing and manipulated by the CCP.

01:52Taiwan is mulling stricter immigration rules for Hong Kong citizens, something it says is necessary

01:58to crack down on Chinese espionage.

02:01There may be some national security concerns in certain cases, and governments need more time

02:09to review it. And it would be also very important for the Taiwanese government to restore the confidence

02:17in the Hong Kong immigrants.

02:19Trust is low among Hong Kongers. The city's artists travel to Taiwan in secret to share their art,

02:25careful not to reveal their identity even here, knowing the long reach of the Chinese Communist Party.

02:33This exhibition is a show of support for Hong Kong's struggle against Beijing.

02:37But as the Communist Party tightens its grip of the city, Taiwan is also having to re-examine how

02:43it treats those from Hong Kong.

02:45Easton Chen and Rick Glowett for Taiwan Plus.

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