A new draft amendment to a Taiwanese law could allow the government to block persons who have committed human rights violations from entering Taiwan. The amendment to the Immigration Law specifically mentions offenders from China, Hong Kong, and Macau, given their unique status in the Taiwanese legal system.
Supporters of the law held a press conference on Friday which included groups such as the Taiwan Association for Human Rights and exiled Hong Kong student representative Lo Tzu-wei (羅子維). Lo says that the government should clarify the sanctions regime and release an initial list of violators as soon as possible. He adds that civil society groups should be invited to help develop the regime.
Democratic Progressive Party legislator Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) agreed, saying that civil society groups often have more on-the-ground information about human rights violations than governments.
Taiwan Hong Kong Association’s Sang Pu (桑普) says he is hopeful that the sanctions regime will include those who have damaged Hong Kong’s freedom. He notes the timing of the amendment is apt, as July 1 marks the anniversaries of both the handover of Hong Kong to China and the passage of the National Security Law.