Press Release | "Chow Hang-tung in Prison" Screened in Taiwan: Over 300 Supporters in a Week, Witnessing Adversity Together and Looking Forward to the Future

This year marks both the tenth anniversary of Taiwan's March 18 Movement and the tenth anniversary of Hong Kong's Umbrella Movement. The 29 Principles and the Judicial Reform Foundation (hereinafter referred to as "JRF") co-hosted the premiere and forum for the documentary "Chow Hang-tung in Prison" on March 19, 2024. Collaborating with the Taipei Bar Association's Human Rights Committee, Pro Bono Committee, International Law Committee, Immigration Law Committee, and Judicial Reform Committee, the organizers invited the public to reflect upon the path they have traversed during this significant juncture, while casting their gaze toward the future and expanding their hearts to encompass regional democracy and freedom.

Accordingly, the JRF and The 29 Principles jointly issued a press release with the following two statements:

 

1. As Hong Kong Faces Authoritarian Expansion, Taiwan Must Continue to Support Space for Hong Kong's Democratic Movement

Following the implementation of the Hong Kong National Security Law in 2020, barrister Chow Hang-tung has been repeatedly arrested and prosecuted due to her involvement with the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China and her publication of articles regarding the June Fourth Massacre. Subsequently, because she publicly refused to provide the police with foreign contact information for the Alliance, Chow was arrested at her office on the morning of September 8, 2021, and has been detained ever since. As a human rights organization focused on human rights lawyers and the development of the rule of law in China and Hong Kong, The 29 Principles—one of the co-organizers of this screening—hopes to invite the public to witness Chow's fearless spirit in the face of authoritarianism and her resilience even while imprisoned.

Ch'en Yü-chieh, a legal scholar at Academia Sinica and convener of the JRF International Affairs Division, mentioned in an interview with the JRF that "as long as the people of Hong Kong have not given up, we have no right to give up." She pointed out that although those of us in Taiwan may find it difficult to provide direct and concrete assistance to Hong Kong's democratic regression, in reality, if we extend our perspective across a grand historical time span, whatever we do is meaningful at the moment no matter how meager it may seem, and is by no means in vain. In particular, the Hong Kong government has recently been accelerating the legislation of Article 23 of the Basic Law. Following the 2020 Hong Kong National Security Law, this is a further erosion of Hong Kong's democracy and rule of law in the name of eliminating external forces; whether through the broadening of criminal offenses or the hollowing out of due process, its purpose is to sever Hong Kong's ties with the outside world and leave Hongkongers even more isolated and helpless.

Therefore, it is crucial to build a "space" within Taiwanese society that can sustainably support Hong Kong's democratic movement. This "space" can be further subdivided into legal space, physical space, and cultural space. As a legal professional organization, the JRF will continue to monitor how the Act Governing Relations with Hong Kong and Macao and the political asylum system can be improved. In terms of building cultural space, we will continue to cooperate and exchange with organizations such as The 29 Principles and other Hong Kong groups, making Taiwan's public knowledge domain regarding Hong Kong issues more sustainable and accessible.

Hosting this premiere and forum for the documentary "Chow Hang-tung in Prison" is an advocacy effort within cultural space. To date, over 300 people—including Taiwanese and Hongkongers, lawyers, scholars, and the general public—have registered, demonstrating that the energy and potential of Taiwanese civil society in supporting Hong Kong's democratic rule of law cannot be underestimated. Numerous schools and civic groups are currently in contact to bring the documentary for screening to more places across Taiwan.

Looking back at the exchanges between Taiwan and Hong Kong as two active hubs of democratic movements, they provided each other with moral and practical support and encouragement. Courage is contagious, and Ch'en Yü-chieh believes that as long as we prepare ourselves and sustain our community, even if we do not see immediate changes now, it does not mean there will never be space in the future. Strategies can be adjusted, but convictions must remain absolutely unchanged. The democratic movement is a long marathon; only through persistent and steady effort can there be an opportunity to break away from authoritarianism.

 

2. Lawyers Play a Vital Role in Social Movements; the Taiwanese Legal Community Must Continue to Express Solidarity with Hong Kong Lawyers

The outbreak of Taiwan's March 18 Movement in 2014 allowed the entire world to witness the will and strength of civil society in resisting authoritarianism, leaving a profound impact on Taiwan's own democracy and rule of law. Not only politically and socially, but judicially regarding charges of incitement, the right of resistance, civil disobedience, and the pursuit of state violence, it was through the JRF's pro bono legal team's persistent companionship with their clients over a decade of litigation that important legal interpretations were secured for Taiwan.

During the 2019 Anti-Extradition Law Amendment Bill Movement in Hong Kong, a group of pro bono lawyers in Taiwan also jointly initiated a legal aid project, establishing the "Taiwan Pro bono Lawyers Team for Supporting Hong Kong Protesters," with administrative and logistical support provided by the JRF.

This screening was specially supported by five committees of the Taipei Bar Association—the Human Rights Committee, Pro Bono Committee, International Law Committee, Immigration Law Committee, and Judicial Reform Committee. This is intended to highlight Chow's identity as a lawyer, whose spirit of upholding justice without fear of suppression and threats from an authoritarian government during social movements is deeply moving and admirable.

During its period of authoritarian rule, Taiwan received a great deal of assistance through international solidarity. Today, partners in Taiwan's legal circle likewise hope to continue providing Hong Kong with the most steadfast moral support. Furthermore, moral support must be translated into sustainable practical action to jointly face adversity and look toward the future.

 

Press Contacts

Huang, Project Manager of International Affairs and Digital Human Rights, Judicial Reform Foundation
grace.huang@jrf.org.tw