Hundreds of Hongkongers Came to Observe Taiwan’s Elections: What are They Taking Home from This Experience?

Not Just the Pro-Democracy Camp but Pro-Establishment Figures too

The main cause of this development is the protests against Hong Kong’s extradition bill, which began in June last year and still continue. Since the protests highlighted the governance problems surrounding the one country, two systems formula that governs the relationship between China and Hong Kong, Tsai, who mainly steered a pro-American course, was handed an opportunity to champion Hong Kong out of support for democracy and forge a closer link between Taiwan’s presidential elections and the street protests on the other side of the Taiwan Strait.

And as the Hong Kong protests evolved into a key issue in Taiwan’s election campaign, the people of Hong Kong developed a stronger interest in the presidential election. They formed groups to observe the elections in Taiwan, demonstrating more enthusiasm than ever in a Taiwanese presidential election.

“I had just left the plane when I ran into a lot of people I knew. We even said that this time probably half of Hong Kong’s political scene has come,” remarks Cheng Man Kit, who was elected councilor in Hong Kong’s Tin Keung District in November of 2019.

Cheng Man Kit (right), who was elected district councilor in November of 2019, and Carmen Lau (left) also formed election observer groups and attended the election rally on Ketagalan Boulevard on the eve of the January 11 elections. (Photo by Kuo-Tai Liu/CW)

Most election observer groups from Hong Kong arrived in Taiwan two to three days ahead of election day. Aside from politicians mainly from the pan-democracy camp, these also included representatives for the pro-Beijing establishment. On top of that, people from academia, business, media and culture circles also formed groups to observe the elections, not to speak of many more who came as individual travelers.

“In a conservative estimate, I would say that nearly 1,000 Hongkongers have come to Taiwan this time to observe the elections,” notes Rubio Chan, founder of Hong Kong travel agency GLO Travel, who organized election study tours.

Tseng Chien-yuan, a public administration professor and chairman of the New School for Democracy, who organized an election study tour in the 2016 presidential elections, points out that previously, groups from Hong Kong and Macao were partly subsidized. But this time it was impossible to continue the subsidies because too many people signed up, so the participants had to pay the entire trip out of their own pockets. The group hosted by the New School for Democracy reached 60 members, more than twice as many as came for the last election. Together with other groups for whom the New School for Democracy merely put together the itineraries, the total exceeds 100 participants. “Many more wanted to come, but our manpower is already stretched to its limits; we just couldn’t take any more people,” says Tseng.

Which places did these observer groups from Hong Kong visit, and what did they get to see?

Visiting Party Headquarters, Scrambling to Meet Enoch Wu

A comparison of election itineraries shows that aside from the “must sees” such as political party headquarters, the election headquarters of the major presidential candidates, election rallies and polling stations, the groups usually also visit the Mainland Affairs Council, where they are personally hosted by Deputy Minister Chiu Chui-cheng. The visitors were also eager to meet popular legislative candidates or incumbent city councilors. The DPP’s Enoch Wu, for instance, who ran against incumbent Kuomintang legislator Chiang Wan-an, the great-grandson of former President Chiang Kai-shek, in a neck-and-neck race was the most sought-after interviewee.

The groups did not limit themselves to just visiting candidates and political parties as usual. Given that Facebook, Youtube and other social media have become important tools and public relations channels in non-traditional electioneering, they also toured political PR companies or spoke with big data analysts who help the political parties finesse their campaigns, hoping to take the lessons learned from the Taiwan experience back to Hong Kong.

In just a few days, the Hong Kong groups toured Taiwan from north to south in whirlwind visits. Why did the people of Hong Kong pay so much attention to Taiwan’s presidential elections and even come to Taiwan to witness the elections first-hand? “The anti-extradition bill movement of the past few months made many Hong Kong people feel that their fate has become linked with Taiwan’s future,” explains Simon Shen, an international relations scholar from Hong Kong.

Shen points out that Hong Kong has always sent election observers to presidential elections in Taiwan. But this time the election received much more attention because the democracy protests in Hong Kong have highlighted the generational value gap in Hong Kong and triggered a reevaluation of the relationship with China. And Taiwan, which likewise goes through a generational struggle and faces increasing pressure from China, can understand this point very well.

“The precedent of Hong Kong has made the Taiwanese people feel strongly that ‘One China’ has no future. Moreover, if you look at the supporters of the two candidates, you know that they represent two completely different generations. It is very clear whatthe typical Han Kuo-yu supporters look like: They are older, pursue stability, value material conditions and economic development, that kind of people. But younger people attach more importance to values; they go for very different things such as freedom, democracy and human rights; they are very similar to the so-called blue-ribbon and yellow-ribbon factions in Hong Kong. When you go to Han’s rallies, his two major claims are for “the country to be safe and the people to be rich,” which is not one iota different from the pro-Beijing establishment, which wants to make money and settle in a comfortable life,” says Shen.

Therefore, supporters of the Hong Kong protests are aware that the election win of Tsai, who voiced support for Hong Kong’s quest for democracy, will not necessarily lead to a big leap forward in Taiwan-Hong Kong relations due to the China factor. “But it is a victory for a certain value system that will make the Hong Kong people feel they aren’t that alone, that there is still hope,” explains Shen.

Also, since the Hong Kong protests have strengthened the Hong Kong people’s pursuit of democracy, and Taiwan is the only democracy in the Chinese-speaking world, its democratization can directly serve as reference for Hong Kong.

Visiting the Origin of the Han Wave, Experiencing Democracy

In the afternoon of January 10, a Hong Kong election observer group of around 30 people from various backgrounds arrived in Kaohsiung’s Yancheng District. Led by a tour guide who explained local history, they visited historic buildings and old streets. Subsequently, they were taken to places where the February 28 Incident played out in Kaohsiung and sites related to the Kaohsiung Incident, a crackdown on a pro-democracy rally in 1979.

Having personally visited the sites of important milestones in the history of Taiwan’s democratization also helped the Hongkongers better understand Taiwan’s current political ecosystem. “Because I am from Kaohsiung, they would ask me, how did the Han wave rise in Kaohsiung given that the city has been ruled by the DPP for so long? Why did the tables turn on the DPP,” says Hank Yu, the founder of Walk in Taiwan. Yu planned walks for the election observer groups in collaboration with GLO Travel.

Hong Kong travel agents seized the opportunity of Taiwan’s presidential elections to organize election observer tours, taking participants to the sites where the February 28 Incident in 1947 and the Kaohsiung Incident in 1979 occurred, for greater insight into Taiwan’s political history. (Photo by Chien-Ying Chiu/CW)

The observer groups this time included several democracy activists who were elected district councilors in the November elections. They seized the opportunity to quiz Taiwan’s elected representative about their experience in local politics. Learning from their Taiwanese colleagues was one of the goals of their trip.

Warren Tam, a 28-year-old newly elected district councilor from the pan-democratic camp, went to see Taipei City Councilor Chiu Wei-jie, also known as Youtuber Froggy Chiu, at the Taipei City Council together with two other rookie district councilors to learn more about non-traditional electioneering such as using Youtube and other social media platforms in campaigns and to spread political ideas. The trio is hoping to borrow from Taiwan’s experience running electoral and activist campaigns via the internet and take it back to Hong Kong to entice more young people to develop an interest in politics.

Some recently elected Hong Kong district councilors met with Youtuber and Taipei City Councilor Chiu Wei-jie, also known as Froggy Chiu (right), at the Taipei City Council to learn more about Internet-based electioneering, hoping to take the experience back to Hong Kong. (Photo by Chien-Ying Chiu/CW)

“We are very curious to find out whether there are other possibilities for political figures [to reach the electorate] than attending weddings, funerals and begging for votes everywhere at different venues. I also want to establish my own Youtube channel; the topics will not be limited to politics because this is a very broad channel. If you can post some video clips to influence the thinking of some people or promote public affairs, then this can be very meaningful and interesting. In Hong Kong very few politicians use this approach,” says Tam.

“Also, if we newly elected district councilors don’t do a good job and only do things according to the old way, we won’t achieve a major breakthrough and won’t be able to promote the democratic education we’ve been talking about. This would amount to falling short of the Hong Kong people’s expectations toward us, which would make it difficult for us to turn the tables in the next election,” notes Tam.

Protesting and Voting, Taiwan and Hong Kong Rally for Democracy

With the anti-extradition bill protests, the Hong Kong people embarked on a long quest for greater democracy. Therefore, the observers from Hong Kong were naturally interested in how the relationship with Taiwan, as their closest international ally, will evolve in the wake of Tsai’s reelection. Will Taiwan offer even greater, more vocal support for Hong Kong?

In their meetings with officials from the Mainland Affairs Council, the visitors had a host of questions, reflecting the issues that currently dominate Hong Kong politics. Will Hong Kong democracy activists who fled to Taiwan after being detained by police be granted appropriate refuge in Taiwan? Will laws governing Taiwan’s relations with Hong Kong and Macao be amended? How will relations between China and Taiwan develop in the wake of Tsai’s landslide victory, and what does that mean for Taiwan-Hong Kong ties? Will Taiwan’s DPP government be able to take practical steps to deepen the relationship with Hong Kong?

“Cooperation between Taiwan and Hong Kong is very important for Hong Kong’s survival. Although we have different [political] systems, we have quite a lot of experiences in common, so that we can imagine more for the future. At least, since Taiwan has democracy, the Hong Kong people have an escape route, like a harbor of safe refuge,” remarks Tam.

At a time when events in Hong Kong play a crucial role in Taiwan politics like never before, many visitors from Hong Kong came to Taiwan to witness the presidential elections held every four years in what amounts to seeing democracy in action. The protest movement in the semi-autonomous territory has forged a closer bond between the people of Taiwan and Hong Kong as both stand on the same side. Regardless of how this relationship evolves, it is bound to have implications for the political situation in Greater China.