Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen says she would follow “humanitarian principles” in dealing with asylum seekers from Hong Kong.
Tsai made the comments after Radio Free Asia reported that more than a dozen protesters from Hong Kong have fled to Taiwan.
In response, China's foreign ministry Friday warned Taiwan against “pretending to be compassionate.”
Taiwan does not have a formal refugee policy. Any move to resettle Hong Kong protesters is likely to anger Beijing.
Hong Kong is a Chinese territory that has been rocked over the last month by massive protests against an extradition bill that would allow residents to be tried in mainland China. China also claims Taiwan as its territory, though the democratically governed island split from the Communist Party-ruled mainland amid civil war in 1949.
