President Ma Ying-jeou says he supports democracy and rule of law for the people of Hong Kong. Ma was speaking on Tuesday at a high-level meeting of the ruling Kuomintang.
Hong Kong is currently a Special Administrative Region of China. On Sunday, Beijing ruled out open nominations for the next Hong Kong leader in 2017. The pro-democracy group Occupy Central has threatened mass civil disobedience to paralyze Hong Kong’s main business district if China doesn't offer the city a real choice in the 2017 election.
On Tuesday, Ma said democracy and rule of law are the core values of the Hong Kong people. He said the Hong Kong government and Mainland China should hold rational talks to reach a consensus. He said only then can China relieve the tensions in Hong Kong and gain the trust of the citizens there.
Ma said democracy and rule of law have been the core values and the long term goals of the Taiwanese people. He said Taiwan will continue to pay attention to the situation and support the people in Hong Kong.