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CNBC's Taiwan’s Tsai pledges support for people of Hong Kong after China proposes national security law begins:

Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen said late on Sunday that the self-ruled democratic island “stands with the people of Hong Kong” as she pledged “necessary assistance” to Hong Kongers who need help.

Tsai commented on the situation in a Facebook post after China introduced a draft national security law for Hong Kong that would bypass the city’s legislature. The measure prompted protests in the financial center over the weekend, reigniting concerns over eroding freedoms in the special administrative territory.

The Facebook post is of course in Chinese, and translations between Chinese and English can be challenging even for simple topics, much less the delicate nuances likely to be drawn on this topic.

Are there some reliable sources that provide insight into what President Tsia actually said and/or meant that Taiwan would do? What do "stands with" and “necessary assistance” mean here? Will it provide some assistance? Or perhaps make immigration from Hong Kong easier?

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The Chinese language version of BBC reported more details. The article cites Tsai's words during a visit to a Hong Kong-associated book store in Taiwan, and plans of Taiwan's Mainland Affair Council. They mention:

  • Taiwan means to help new settlements of Hong Kong people. Tsai urges people to not refer new Hong Kongers as refugees.
  • Such assistance is currently carried out by voluntary groups, but the Taiwan government would cooperate with them.
  • Under the current law, there are limited ways, such as investment and study, for immigration.
  • There are already people seeking asylum, but the cases are unacknowledged and sporadic.

However, Taiwan is also considering revoking Hong Kong's special status in an earlier stage. This would make it harder for Hong Kong people to travel and to invest in Taiwan, which seems to conflict with the spirit of the above new measures.

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    @uhoh Thank you for the kind and welcoming advice. As you suggest, I add a summary. So far, most news I find is in Chinese, and IMHO Google Translate gives a comprehensible translation.
    – nicknicknick
    Commented Jun 1, 2020 at 2:52
  • thanks for the edit and welcome to Stack Exchange!
    – uhoh
    Commented Jun 1, 2020 at 2:53

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