Joint Statement by Civil Society Organizations Regarding the Mainland Affairs Council's Announcement of the "Hong Kong Humanitarian Aid and Care Project"

Today (the 18th), the Mainland Affairs Council held a press conference to announce the "Hong Kong Humanitarian Aid and Care Project," fulfilling the Taiwanese government's commitment to assisting the people of Hong Kong. This is a highly commendable development. We have indeed witnessed the efforts of MAC personnel in facilitating this project throughout the process, and we are pleased to see the progress and functional arrangements made by the government in "establishing an official window, assisting with the daily resettlement of individual cases, and taking over grassroots shelter work."

However, drawing on our practical experience in assisting individual cases and carrying out shelter work in the past, civil society organizations will continue to offer recommendations in response to changes in the situation in Hong Kong and regarding concerns over areas where the mechanism remains imperfect.

Referring to the previously proposed civil-society version of the "Enforcement Rules for Article 18 of the Laws And Regulations Regarding Hong Kong And Macao Residents," several potential hidden concerns in the current mechanism remain apparent. The application requirements, procedures, visa validity, and remedies upon the rejection of an application all require further clarification. We will elaborate on this in detail at a press conference tomorrow morning (the 19th).

According to Hong Kong media reports, the "Hong Kong version of the National Security Law" will be officially implemented in Hong Kong in early July, at which point a large number of protesters will inevitably face political prosecution carrying extremely heavy sentences. Civil society organizations hope that when the project office officially begins operations on July 1, the government and civil society in Taiwan can jointly make more adequate preparations for the protesters from Hong Kong.

The struggle is not yet over; Taiwan and Hong Kong stand together!

Issuing Organizations

Hong Kong Outlanders
Economic Democracy Union
Taiwan Association for Human Rights
Judicial Reform Foundation
Taiwan Lawyers for Hong Kong Protesters Support