President Tsai Ing-wen checked out banished Causeway Bay bookseller Lam Wing-kei in his new book shop on the democratic island of Taiwan on Friday, sending a strong message of uniformity with anti-government protesters in Hong Kong.

Lam left to Taiwan after being apprehended by mainland China’s state security authorities along with 4 colleagues for selling “banned” political books to clients in China.

Tsai informed Lam that the books he was costing his “Causeway Bay Books” store looked excellent and she would need to return to search even more.

She likewise composed a note for display screen in the store which checked out: “Free Taiwan supports Hong Kong’s freedom.”

“Today I visited the Causeway Bay Books in Taipei to welcome Lam Wing-kee on behalf of the people of Taiwan & thank the people of Hong Kong for their commitment to freedom & democracy,” stated Tsai through her Twitter account.

Tsai was accompanied by former 2015 student demonstration leader Lin Fei-fan, now deputy leader of her judgment Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).

She stated she had actually seen more and more people were picking to reside in Taiwan, which just recently revealed a fast- track residency and assistance bundle for Hongkongers running away political reprisals connected to the anti-government demonstrations.

“We will set up an ad hoc group to deal with this matter … to coordinate various ministries and departments to make it easier for people to come here, and to stay here,” Tsai stated. “They will need care and government assistance when they first arrive.”

“We would like to thank bookstore owner Lam Wing-kei for his pursuit of human rights, freedom, and democracy in Hong Kong, and to offer him a warm welcome on behalf of the people of Taiwan,” she stated.

“I also hope that you can work together with us here to develop our freedom and democracy,” she stated.

Migration assistance required

Lam stated that the migration bundle would be sorely required.

“Not everyone can afford to apply for an investment visa, and there are plenty of people in Hong Kong with no resources who know they are no longer safe,” he stated. “Right now we can expect to extend our visas a couple of times, but six months isn’t a long time — maybe that should be extended to nine months or a year at least.”

“There is a huge need among Hongkongers and it’s hard for Western countries to process them all in a short space of time — they take much longer to do it,” he stated.

Tsai’s go to came as Taiwanese legislators released a cross-party joint declaration slamming Beijing’s strategy to enforce a severe sedition and subversion law on Hong Kong, bypassing the city’s Legal Council (LegCo).

The declaration, signed by Tsai’s judgment Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the opposition Kuomintang (KMT), which has actually formerly campaigned on a platform of closer ties with China, stated the transfer to enforce the national security law would lead to a fast deterioriation in Hong Kong’s scenario.

“We hereby express our deep regret and strong condemnation concerning mainland China’s attempts to enforce its version of a national security law in Hong Kong by circumventing the territory’s Legislative Council, as Beijing would be reneging on its promise of ‘a high degree of autonomy’ for 50 years in Hong Kong,” the declaration stated.

The declaration likewise advised Taiwan to offer help to individuals of Hong Kong, stating they highly support Hongkongers’ pursuit of flexibility, democracy, and human rights.

Reported by Chung Kuang-cheng for RFA’s Cantonese Service, and by Hsia Hsiao-hwa for the Mandarin Service. Equated and modified by Luisetta Mudie.

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