Taiwan Election is Make or Break for Fleeing Hong Kong Protesters

Taiwan Election is Make or Break for Fleeing Hong Kong Protesters
A protester in his early 30s, who asked only to be identified as Jero, poses for photo at a Presbyterian Church in Taipei, Taiwan on Dec. 23, 2019. Tyrone Siu/Reuters
Reuters
Updated:

TAIPEI—A small but growing number of Hong Kong protesters who fled to Taiwan for safety over the past few months fear an opposition victory in the island’s election this week will put them in peril and force them to leave.

The mostly young men and women who came to Taiwan after taking part in increasingly violent protests in support of democracy in Hong Kong have no legal way to gain permanent asylum, but President Tsai Ing-wen’s broadly sympathetic government has allowed about 60 of them to temporarily extend their stay.