‘ Taiwan- Hong Kong independence’ groups show sign of collusion

Mainland experts said they believe an organization set up by pro- independence activists in Taiwan on Monday out of “concern for their counterparts” in Hong Kong shows collusion between pro- independence activists in the two regions, and will harm their ties with the mainland.

Huang Kuo- chang, a major figure in the 2014 “Sunflower Movement” against the cross- Straits service trade agreement, and Hsu Yung- ming, a Soochow University political scientist, funded the so- called “Taiwan- Hong Kong alliance front under Taiwan’s Legislative Yuan” in Taipei, the Beijing- based haiwainet. cn reported on Monday.

They claim that the organization was meant to “show Taiwan’s concern for the democratic process in Hong Kong and to promote democratic exchanges between the two regions,” Hong Kongbased on. cc reported Monday.

Huang and Hsu are leading members of Taiwan pro- independence group New Power Party ( NPP). Eighteen Taiwan legislators joined the new organization, five from the NPP and the others from the Democratic Progressive Party ( DPP), Taiwan media reported.

Hong Kong legislators, including Nathan Law Kwun- Chung and Joshua Wong Chi- fung, student leaders of the Hong Kong Occupy protest, attended a tea party to “celebrate the establishment of the organization,” on. cc reported.

“We must be vigilant since the new organization probably indicates a collusion of Taiwan and Hong Kong pro- independence activists,” Yin Hongbiao, a professor at the School of International Studies of Peking University, told the Global Times on Monday.

Yin warned that the move would damage ties between the Chinese mainland and the two regions.

Yin’s warning was echoed by Zhu Songling, a professor at the Institute of Taiwan Studies of Beijing Union University, who explained that “‘ Taiwan-independence’ groups like the NPP like to use a referendum and democracy as excuses to incite social movements. The organization is their latest move to promote independence and create instability in Hong Kong.”

One day before the establishment of the “Taiwan- Hong Kong alliance front,” a meeting attended by 500 Taiwan residents was held in Taipei to promote peaceful reunification, the Xinhua News Agency reported Sunday.