Hong Kong’s Joshua Wong Visits Taiwan to Meet With Ruling Party

(Bloomberg) -- Leading Hong Kong pro-democracy activists including Joshua Wong arrived in Taiwan for a meeting with President Tsai Ing-wen’s ruling party, just days after Taipei denied playing a role in Hong Kong’s unrest.

Wong was scheduled to meet with Democratic Progressive Party Chairman Cho Jung-tai on Tuesday, as well as representatives of the pro-independence New Power Party, before giving a talk in the evening. The 22-year-old Demosisto party secretary general was accompanied by Hong Kong lawmaker Eddie Chu and former student leader Lester Shum.

Wong -- the subject of a Netflix documentary titled “Joshua: Teenager vs. Superpower” -- said in a Facebook post he was in Taiwan to arrange what he called a “large-scale gathering” to show support for Hong Kong. “A large display of support for Hong Kong by the Taiwanese public, showing the Chinese Communist Party the unity between the peoples of Taiwan and Hong Kong, would give us a huge amount of strength,” Wong said.

Tsai, whose DPP supports independence, has stepped up her criticism of Beijing as the Hong Kong protests fuel new skepticism about unification with China. Her critiques have led Chinese officials to list Taiwan, along with the U.S. and the U.K., among the “black hands” it says are behind almost three months of historic protests.

Wong was among several Hong Kong activists arrested last week in a crackdown on protest leaders condemned by Tsai. Earlier Tuesday, Wong said another Demosisto leader, Ivan Lam, was detained by authorities at Hong Kong’s airport. Wong was released on bail shortly after his arrest.

On Saturday, Sun Yafu, vice president of the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait, accused Tsai of taking advantage of the unrest to undercut the idea of Hong Kong-style autonomy for the island. Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council later dismissed the claims as “nonsense.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Samson Ellis in Taipei at sellis29@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Brendan Scott at bscott66@bloomberg.net, Adrian Kennedy

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