Brian Hioeby Brian Hioe
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Photo Credit: Brian Hioe
HONG KONG POLICE claim that they have arrested four individuals aged 15 to 47 over a pro-independence organization that advocates for Hong Kong independence. What proves unusual, however, is that they claim that this organization has links to Taiwan, according to Chinese state-run media, and the arrest took place at least partly because of actions that took place in Taiwan.
The group, the Hong Kong Democratic Independence Union, was apparently founded in Taipei and established a social media presence last November. The organization appears to support causes such as Tibet, Xinjiang, and Taiwanese independence in addition to its core cause of supporting Hong Kong independence.
If the Hong Kong government–and by extension, Chinese authorities–allege links to Taiwan, this would not be the first time that such claims have occurred. During the 2019 protests in Hong Kong, the Chinese government claimed to have apprehended “tens of thousands” of Taiwanese spies. This was blatantly untrue, seeing as if tens of thousands of Taiwanese had disappeared in Hong Kong or China in the course of the Anti-ELAB Movement, this would not have gone unnoticed.
Statement by the group vowing to fight on
Otherwise, there are cases of the Chinese government arresting Taiwanese in China on political charges. This has included some individuals who are, in fact, pro-independence, as well as individuals who have actually had pan-Blue backgrounds. Likewise, the Chinese government has accused Taiwanese “hackers” of cyberattacks targeting Chinese local governments and companies, publicizing their identities and offering bounties, and accused Taiwan of orchestrating social media phenomena critical of China, such as the “Milk Tea Alliance.” Taiwan has grown increasingly wary of Chinese framing of Taiwanese aggression is intended to build up a pretext to justify eventual military action.
Still, the general claim by Hong Kong authorities seems to be that the group is mostly present in Taiwan, rather than emphasizing links to Taiwanese groups. Hong Kong police claimed that the group called for the US to intervene in Hong Kong to free political prisoners, and that military training should be provided to overseas Hongkongers.
Examining the presumed social media presence of the group, one notes that it has less than 100 likes on Facebook and abbreviates the name of “Hong Kong Democratic Independence Union” as “DIU,” a Cantonese curse word. Following the arrests, the organization claims that it will keep on fighting.
One notes that the group mostly seems to consist of very young individuals. Furthermore, the claim that individuals between the ages of 15 to 47 were part of the organization is unusual, in that this would mean that a seemingly unserious organization had members who were three times the age of other members. The group styles itself as a political party and lists the names of members, as well as displaying their photos.
Facebook post calling for the flag-raising action
At the same time, it is clear that the group did carry out activities in Taiwan and may have a genuine Taiwan-based presence. The group hoisted a Black Bauhinia flag on July 1st, while singing Glory to Hong Kong, as well as tearing the PRC and Hong Kong flags. July 1st is commemorated as Chinese National Day, normally leading to protests in Hong Kong and Taiwan.
The demonstration itself suggests that the group is newly established and does not, in fact, have strong links in Taiwan. No other Taiwan-based Hong Kong groups were present at the demonstration, nor were the usual slate of Taiwanese organizations that are supportive of Hongkongers in Taiwan present. The proceedings of the event were conducted entirely in Cantonese, which is also unusual for Hong Kong-focused events in Taiwan.
Hong Kong authorities have claimed that the arrests show how the impact of the 2019 protests continues to affect a young generation of Hongkongers more than six years later. At the same time, it generally appears that the Hong Kong government is seeking to target a group of unserious kids while framing it as a serious act of terrorism.
Flag-raising ceremony in Ximending on July 1st. Photo credit: Brian Hioe
The significance of the case for Taiwan is that it appears that the Hong Kong government has, in fact, targeted individuals at least in part for actions that took place in Taiwan. For one, this points to transnational repression between Taiwan and Hong Kong. But it is unclear if the Hong Kong Democratic Independence Union came to the attention of Hong Kong authorities because of surveillance in Hong Kong or in Taiwan, given that the group was highly transparent with its actions, again, literally posting the names and faces of its members on social media.