Taiwan president Tsai Ing-wen visited a bookstore run by a prominent Hong Kong dissident Friday, repeating promises of humanitarian support and sanctuary for those fighting for democracy in the finance hub.

taiwan bookseller lam-wing kee (7)
Photo: Taiwan Gov’t.

The meeting in Taipei with Lam Wing-kee comes a day after China’s rubber-stamp parliament approved plans to impose a sweeping national security law on Hong Kong that critics say will destroy the city’s autonomy.

taiwan bookseller lam-wing kee (7)
Photo: Taiwan Gov’t.

“We thank Lam Wing-kee for your insistence on Hong Kong’s human rights, freedom and democracy. I welcome you on behalf of the Taiwanese people,” Tsai told the publisher.

taiwan bookseller lam-wing kee (7)
Photo: Taiwan Gov’t.

Lam and four other Hong Kong booksellers who published salacious titles about China’s leadership vanished at the end of 2015, reappearing months later in police custody in mainland China.

taiwan bookseller lam-wing kee (7)
Photo: Taiwan Gov’t.

He fled to self-ruled, democratic Taiwan last year after the Hong Kong government announced a now-scrapped proposal to allow extraditions to China, and re-opened his bookshop there last month.

taiwan bookseller lam-wing kee (7)
Photo: Taiwan Gov’t.

Repeating a pledge that has angered Beijing, Tsai said her government was working on a “humanitarian assistance action plan” that will provide support for other Hong Kongers who flee to the island as Beijing cracks down on pro-democracy protests.

taiwan bookseller lam-wing kee (7)
Photo: Taiwan Gov’t.

Last year over 5,000 Hong Kongers moved to Taiwan, up 41 percent from a year earlier, some of them fleeing prosecution over the protests or seeking a new life in one of Asia’s most progressive democracies.

taiwan bookseller lam-wing kee (7)
Photo: Taiwan Gov’t.

China claims sovereignty over Taiwan and has vowed to one day seize it, by force if necessary.

Beijing has ratched up diplomatic and military pressure on Taiwan since Tsai came to power in 2016 because she regards the island as a de facto independent state and not part of “one China”. 

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