Taiwan urges Hong Kong's government to return to 'rationality'
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People form a human chain to pass materials as they gather for a march towards Hong Kong Polytechnic University on Nov 18, 2019.
PHOTO: AFP
TAIPEI (DPA) - Taiwan's government on Tuesday (Nov 19) urged the Hong Hong government to return to "rationality".
"We urge the Hong Kong government to return to rationality and listen to the people's voice. To solve Hong Kong issues, people should be given freedom, democracy and true universal suffrage," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou said.
Her comments came amid a police siege at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, where some of the worst violence in six months of protests in the semi-autonomous Chinese territory have taken place.
"We are highly concerned with the Hong Kong police's violence and inappropriate arrests," Ms Ou said.
Taiwanese Foreign Minister Joseph Wu also condemned the scenes in Hong Kong during the university stand-off.
"During the siege of PolyU, doctors, nurses & EMT (Emergency Medical Teams) staff were detained with hands tied behind backs. This is absolutely unacceptable!" Mr Wu tweeted.
Taiwan's Cabinet-level Mainland Affairs Council, the government agency that deals with Beijing, on Tuesday confirmed that an 18-year-old Taiwanese student was arrested early on Tuesday by police at the university.
The council's representative office in Hong Kong was assisting the detained student's family and lawyer to help secure her release, it said in a statement.
