Several groups of protestors broke into the Hong Kong Economic, Trade and Cultural Office in Taipei at about 11pm on Sunday night. They held a sit-in, calling for the head of the office, John Leung, to come and face their requests.
The protestors occupied the main lobby of the office, shouting that the people of Taiwan support the people of Hong Kong. They were led by the student leaders who were involved with the occupation of Taiwan’s legislature back in March: Lin Fei-fan and Chen Wei-ting.
The protestors hung slogans on the walls, calling for fair and direct elections, and an end to the violent crackdown on the protests in Hong Kong. They also called for Taiwan’s government to immediately call off cross-strait negotiations, and to register a serious protest with the authorities in both Hong Kong and Beijing.
The head of the Hong Kong representative office in Taipei, John Leung, met with the protestors on Monday morning. He said he understood their position, and that he would relay it back to authorities in Hong Kong. But the protestors responded in anger.
“In dealing with this, I’m sure that the Hong Kong police are very professional in the way they are handling it," said Leung. "But things will happen that we don’t want to see, and I regret that. Thank you for your concern. Your demands will be expressed to the Hong Kong authorities.”
The protestors clashed with the police, pushing forward in waves, before eventually dispersing at around 10am. The civic groups vowed to return if the Hong Kong government continues to evade the demands of the public.