Last week Chu Yiu-ming, one of the initiators of "Occupy Central", joined Cheng Yu-shek, convener of the Alliance for True Democracy, and Labour Party Chairman Lee Cheuk-yan for a trip to Taiwan to "receive tutelage" from former Democratic Progressive Party chairman Shih Ming-te. Meanwhile, Lin Cho-shui, known as "master theorist on Taiwan independence", was invited by the opposition camp to "share his experience in democratic development" at a symposium held in Hong Kong.

The two events, dubbed "non-official exchanges", did not appear naturally connected but nevertheless reminded me of leading "Occupy" mastermind and advocate Tai Yiu-ting's participation in a lecture organized by the New School for Democracy in Taiwan, which is closely connected to the "Taiwan independence" ("TI") movement. Tai raised quite a few eyebrows by saying in a recent article published in local newspapers that a Taiwan-based friend of his thinks "too few people have been imprisoned or shed blood for democracy in Hong Kong." Then there is his fellow "Occupy" initiator Chan Kin-man, who is scheduled to visit Taiwan in December to exchange ideas at the invitation of like-minded folk there.

Many Hong Kong residents may believe that "Hong Kong independence" is but a fantasy of a few secessionists and has no chance of success because no one buys what they are selling. With the courtship mentioned above warming in real earnest, however, the "Occupy" and "TI" forces are actually more serious about their marriage than the average bystander expected. In fact, the two parties are no longer just "talking" about it and have advanced to planning specific actions. Shih said after his meeting with Chu, Cheng and Lee in Taipei last Saturday that the opposition camp in Hong Kong intends to stage scaled-down "Occupy" acts by 17 people on a monthly basis next year as their way of observing the 17th anniversary of the handover and are prepared to be arrested for such illegal acts.

As leading mastermind and advocate of "Occupy", Tai has boasted openly that his brain child will be a "weapon of mass destruction" in its own right. It should surprise no one if the "devastating political shock" he bragged about also draws energy from the marriage of "Occupy" and "TI".

To better appreciate the validity of this view we need to look at the true colors of the two leading characters from Taiwan in this political drama. Shih Ming-te was the commander-in-chief of the "1 million red-shirt army" that completely blocked traffic in downtown Taipei for weeks in addition to dividing the public over government leadership change back in the day. The "rich experience in waging mass struggle" that Chu, Cheng and Chan supposedly learned from him is in fact how to reenact in Hong Kong the political turmoil that paralyzed Taipei and split Taiwan society. Shih's mass movement was so destructive many of his followers eventually lost faith and turned against him. Thankfully for Taiwan the movement fell victim to infighting and a financial scandal that left Shih under suspicion of embezzlement and eventually fizzed out.

Lin Cho-shui's back story is just as remarkable as Shih's if not more so. We know that "TI" as a political aspiration started as nativism and the "Right Taiwan's Name" movement. Its ultimate goal is to achieve "constitutional statehood", which means establishing Taiwan as a bona fide "independent country with complete sovereignty and global recognition". Its theory took shape and was finalized in the first revision of the DPP's constitution in 1991 thanks to Lin, who was in charge of its drafting from the beginning. He told his audience here that "Occupy" cannot succeed with one sitting and has to be kept going as long as necessary: "Occupy Central this year, Sai Wan next and the north in the Year of the Monkey (2015)."

Some "pan-democracy" politicians argued that exchanges with the "TI" camp in Taiwan do not constitute "inviting foreign forces". That is true in that Taiwan is part of China and whatever happens on either side of the Taiwan Straits is China's internal affairs. Even current Taiwan leader Ma Ying-jeou reiterated in a public address on Oct 10 that "people on both sides of the Straits are Chinese nationals and cross-Straits ties are not international relations." However, people must keep in mind that "TI" is secessionist in nature and just as dangerous as meddling by foreign powers such as the US and UK.

Politically speaking it is extraordinarily retarded for the opposition camp to try to boost its drive for "genuine universal suffrage" in bringing "TI" over, because it will no doubt alert and upset the central authorities even more. And public objection to "TI" in Hong Kong has been consistent forever, as shown in opinion polls by the University of Hong Kong's Public Opinion Programme in the past 20 years.

The author is a current affairs commentator.

(HK Edition 10/25/2013 page9)