Statement by Attorney Chang Ching-ju | Street Action Marking Almost One Year Since the Implementation of Article 23 of the Hong Kong Basic Law

Shortly after the implementation of Article 23 of the Hong Kong Basic Law, Hong Kong police invoked the provision to arrest five women and one man, including barrister Chow Hang-tung, alleging that they had published social media posts "inciting hatred" against Beijing. According to officials, the messages they posted utilized an upcoming "sensitive date" to incite others.

This case demonstrates that following the enforcement of Article 23 of the Hong Kong Basic Law, Hong Kong's democracy and freedom of speech are facing even more severe challenges. Anyone who touches the sensitive nerves of authoritarian rule risks being charged with "sedition" or "subversion of state power" and facing judicial trial, which in turn strikes down Hong Kong's original political diversity and openness, creating a chilling effect. One must ask: when dissenting voices are treated as threats to national security and criminalized, whose security is national security actually protecting? When the judiciary becomes a tool to suppress the people's freedom of speech, it is no different from becoming a weapon for authoritarian rulers.

As the people of Taiwan living in a democratic society, we should continue to pay attention to and learn from the oppression suffered today by Hong Kong, which has long stood as a symbol of freedom and democracy in Asia. Please cherish the democracy and freedom that Taiwan currently possesses, for it is precisely because of this that we can stand here today to raise differing opinions on Article 23 of the Hong Kong Basic Law and even question it—unlike in Hong Kong today, where reporters asked for their views on Article 23 can only express support, evade, or dodge the question. Because Taiwan possesses such democratic values, it embraces all kinds of speech within the boundaries of freedom of speech, accommodates diverse opinions, and thereby protects individual rights and the development of multiculturalism. The people can question and challenge various decisions made by the public sector, prompting policies to become more comprehensive. Paying attention to Hong Kong is about expressing solidarity with Hong Kong and safeguarding the values of democracy and freedom. We hope that through our attention and solidarity with Hong Kong, the authoritarian regime will feel restrained, leading them to halt, suspend, or even delay the deprivation of the democratic and freedom rights of the people of Hong Kong. Paying attention to Hong Kong is also about foreseeing the potential plight that Taiwan might face under authoritarian rule if it were to lose its democracy and freedom, thereby making us cherish the democracy and freedom we currently possess even more. We hope everyone will continue to monitor the situation in Hong Kong, and please also show concern and encouragement to the human rights workers who are still operating in Hong Kong. After all, standing up under authoritarian rule to resist authority and provide basic rights protection to the persecuted is a difficult task.