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Hong Kong government should stop suppressing and start talking, Taiwan leader Tsai Ing-wen says
- City’s authorities should strengthen their commitment to freedom and democracy for Hong Kong people, she says
- Tsai’s Democratic Progressive Party laments ‘bloodstained National Day celebration and bloodstained one country, two systems’
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Lawrence Chungin Taipei
Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen has called on Hong Kong authorities to swiftly initiate talks with anti-government protesters after an 18-year-old school student was shot during a confrontation with police in the city on Tuesday.
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“We strongly regret to learn that a high school student taking part in the protest was shot by a law enforcer of the Hong Kong government,” Tsai’s office said in a statement late on Tuesday.
“The Hong Kong governing authorities should stop their suppressing actions and quickly initiate talks with society, and consolidate their commitment to freedom and democracy for Hong Kong people to address the unnecessary conflicts.”
Tsai’s Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said it was shocked to see police in Hong Kong opening fire on China’s National Day on Tuesday.
“Undoubtedly it was a bloodstained National Day celebration and bloodstained ‘one country, two systems’, and we feel sorry about this,” the party said in a statement.
One country, two systems, the principle that governs Hong Kong’s relationship with Beijing, has been proposed by mainland President Xi Jinping as a means of unifying with the self-ruled Taiwan. The model has been dismissed by Taiwan as unacceptable.
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The DPP said Xi had vowed in a speech on Tuesday morning to uphold one country, two systems and maintain stability in Hong Kong – “but in the afternoon, police in Hong Kong used live ammunition to shoot at the public”.
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