A top official in Taiwan's ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has warned the island's 23 million residents to think carefully before traveling to Hong Kong or China in the wake of Hong Kong's draconian national security law, which targets acts or speech seen as subversive by China anywhere in the world, as the U.S. upgrades its military commitment to the island's defense. DPP deputy leader Lin Fei-fan, himself a former leader of the 2014 student-led Sunflower movement that occupied Taiwan's parliament in protest at a trade deal with China, said the law doesn't just make life riskier for Hongkongers.
"I hope Taiwanese people traveling to Hong Kong will be mindful of their safety, because this is a law that affects not only Hong Kongers, but people in Taiwan and in countries around the world," Lin told a party meeting.
The national security law, which took effect in Hong Kong on June 30, criminalizes speech and actions deemed subversive or secessionist, as well as actions, speech and help for people "colluding with foreign countries" or planning and committing acts of "terror."
