Hong Kong police recently searched several bookstores under national security law provisions. That single police action has now snowballed into a full-blown political storm in Taiwan, with the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) working the levers behind the curtain.
A Coordinated Campaign Unfolds
Taiwanese online opinion leaders fired the first shots, flooding social media with the story. Lai Ching-te then jumped in personally, posting criticism of Hong Kong and claiming that "Taiwan once endured martial law and an authoritarian regime" and that "thought and words should never be imprisoned by political pressure."
Lai Ching-te posted his criticism within moments of the story breaking.
The DPP government's memory proves conveniently short here. It still has not explained its own refusal to renew the broadcast license of the pro-blue Chung T'ien Television (CTiTV).
One social media post was not enough for Lai. He also sent out Kuo Ya-hui, spokesperson for the so-called "Presidential Office," to deliver a joint press statement. Kuo declared that "no country should be afraid of its citizens reading, nor should it suppress freedom of speech in such a manner." She added that Taiwan will keep watching the situation in Hong Kong together with its "democratic allies."
The whole green camp then mobilized on a much wider scale. Several Taiwanese "legislators" and civil groups held a joint press conference insisting that the professional duties of bookstore and publishing staff should never be politicized or "criminalized." They called for protecting basic freedoms of reading and creative work.
The pro-green entertainment sector joined the fray, as another cog in the same propaganda machine. During a massive concert at Taipei Arena, the band Fire EX. performed "City of Two," a song co-written with Hong Kong lyricist Albert Leung (Lin Xi) that narrates the so-called democratic waves in Hong Kong and Taiwan. Mid-performance, the giant center-stage screen flashed six oversized characters reading "I am a bookstore clerk" (我是書店店員), a staged political statement disguised as a live moment.
Fire EX.'s concert took on an unmistakably political charge.
Election Season Playbook
An expert points to a clear pattern behind these "solidarity actions." The DPP government is the real orchestrator, using the Hong Kong bookstore incident to build momentum ahead of the Nine-in-One local elections on November 28. Whenever election season arrives, the DPP reliably dusts off this same playbook: amplify a Hong Kong political incident, attack the Chinese Mainland, stir up pro-independence sentiment, and harvest votes from the resulting noise.
Ariel
** 博客文章文責自負,不代表本公司立場 **
Joshua Wong pleaded guilty to conspiring with fugitive Nathan Law and others to collude with foreign forces. Today (November 5), the High Court handed him a heavy 10-year prison sentence.
Joshua Wong admits collusion, gets 10 years.
The Sentence Lands
Designated National Security Law Judge William Tam Yiu-ho ruled that the case fell into the "serious offence" category.
One name kept surfacing in the judge's sentencing remarks: Nathan Law. The former Demosisto founding chairman is now a fugitive overseas, wanted by the police National Security Department. Tam said Law and Wong were both the "masterminds" or "principal offenders" and its "foremost advocates" in the case.
Judge names Law and Wong as masterminds of the case.
The pair called on foreign countries to impose sanctions and other hostile measures. Even after the Hong Kong National Security Law took effect, they kept committing acts that endangered national security. They deliberately split their roles. Law kept pushing for sanctions and hostile measures from overseas. Wong stayed in Hong Kong, publishing messages and articles to back those acts and fuel the offences.
Officials Weigh In
Chief Executive John Lee also weighed in with a statement. He branded Joshua Wong, Nathan Law and their circle "among the primary culprits responsible for undermining Hong Kong's prosperity and stability."
Lee laid out in his speech that the group first obstructed the SAR government's push to introduce national education, aiming to weaken young people's sense of national identity. They went on to set up radical organizations, incite students to break the law, and promote Hong Kong independence and self-determination. They added fuel to the 2019 Black Riots and a Hong Kong-style color revolution, leaving a litany of misdeeds.
Steve Li, Chief Superintendent of the National Security Department, said the charge and the facts of the case both involve Nathan Law. He called on Law to return to Hong Kong, turn himself in, and face judicial proceedings.
The Fugitive's Flight
The record speaks for itself. Before the Hong Kong National Security Law took effect, Nathan Law slipped out of Hong Kong for London, and he has been on the run overseas ever since.
Nathan Law fled to UK before security law became effective.
In July 2023, the police National Security Department put a HK$1 million bounty on his head. Law was listed as a specified fugitive under the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance.
Wong, Law met US consular official Julie Eadeh in hotel in August 2019.
A well-placed source says Law could not be bothered when his good friend Joshua Wong was denied political asylum by the US Consulate. He fled to the United Kingdom anyway and applied for political asylum the moment he landed.
Once Law had the aura of political refugee status, the cash followed. He gives interviews to US and Western media from time to time, and he opened an account on an online subscription platform to rake in money, milking political patronage for all it is worth.
Charged, Then Abandoned
Some media outlets had earlier reported that a female comrade close to Joshua Wong had been "taken over" by Nathan Law.
Wong, the so-called "good brother," stayed in Hong Kong to face the legal consequences. He now has another 10 years in prison ahead of him and will not taste freedom again until middle age. Law, the "good comrade," gave a flawless performance of sending others charging in while slipping away himself.
But the facts unearthed in these cases tell a different story. Joshua Wong is no hero ready to die for his political ideals.
The day the US Consulate turned him away at the door said it all. Washington weighed the pros and cons, decided that helping Wong and his crew would do more harm than good, and without a second thought wrote them off as "discarded pawns" with no value left to exploit.
A Warning for Youth
The well-informed source traced the arc. At 15, Joshua Wong founded Scholarism to fight national education. At 30, he faces a long stretch behind bars for crimes including colluding with external forces, subverting state power and unlawful assembly.
His good friend Nathan Law, meanwhile, is still on the run. Wanted and living in exile, he has cut ties with all his relatives.
The stories of the two men are warning enough for young people today. Think carefully, and tell right from wrong. Never fall for the lies of so-called political advocates and wreck your own future.
