The Washington Post
Date: Feb. 23, 2020
By: Nick Aspinwall 

TAIPEI — Che-lam Presbyterian Church is next door to Taiwan's legislature and a stone's throw from the presidential office in the island's capital.

But while President Tsai Ing-wen's support for Hong Kong protesters powered her to reelection last month, the church is Taiwan's only institution to publicly provide material assistance to people who have fled the Asian financial hub's crackdown on demonstrators.

Since protests erupted in June, hundreds of Hong Kongers have sought refuge in Taiwan, a self-governed democracy over which China asserts sovereignty. Most have entered legally, but a minority have used smugglers to reach Taiwan by boat. And although Taiwan has temporarily barred entry to most Hong Kongers amid the coronavirus outbreak, many in Hong Kong view the island as a place to resettle should their political strife worsen.

"We don't ask them their names, we don't ask how they came here," said Charles Kong, secretary for Che-lam head pastor Huang Chun-sheng. "We just provide support once they get here."
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