In the past three months, Hong Kong has been in the limelight of the world media. Tens of thousands, at times millions, of Hongkongers took to the street to protest enactment of an extradition bill that they think will infringe on their basic human rights. Some people, watching with empathy, render their support. Some people do not fully understand why the “politically apathetic economic animals” suddenly wake up to the political calls. But only the Taiwanese have the vantage point to feel why Hongkongers are doing this.

The reasons are simple: geographical proximity; and after Hong Kong falls, Taiwan will be China’s next target. Taiwan has traveled the rocky path to democracy, and like most countries, has long adhered to the values of democracy and freedom — which is why the Taiwanese are concerned about the conditions in Hong Kong and will resolutely defend Taiwan’s democracy and freedom.

In 1997, Hong Kong was returned to China under the so-called “one country, two systems,” and Beijing pledged it would maintain the territory’s autonomy and civic freedoms for 50 years. Even though Taiwan has never been a part of the People’s Republic of China, it was understood that the invention of this “one country, two systems” formula was to entice Taiwan into China’s fold.

However, the fact is that Taiwan has been democratized since the 1980s, and has become a vibrant democratic, civil society today. From Taiwan’s point of view, freedom and democracy are hard-won achievements that we will treasure and protect.

In contrast, Hong Kong’s freedom of speech has dwindled ever since its turnover. China’s promise of free elections of the chief executive and the legislature has never been realized. The suspicion that China had no intention to keep its promises was confirmed when a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said the UK-China Joint Declaration on Hong Kong was but “a historical document that no longer has any practical significance.” Such a statement upset the Hongkongers and sowed the seeds of discontent with Beijing and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government.

The introduction of the extraction bill horrified Hongkongers. If it becomes law, it would allow Hong Kong residents and visitors to be repatriated to China. Hongkongers suddenly realized that not only can they not improve their political well-beings, but they are also bound to lose the ones they currently own. The fear of being extradited to China and further controlled by the Chinese communist rule eventually brought millions of people to the street — shaking the world, especially Beijing.

Why is China not popular in Hong Kong? Its system stipulates the Chinese Communist Party is the only legitimate ruling party, abolishes the term limit of its presidency, controls all media information flow, ignores basic human rights, including religious beliefs. The simple fact: Hong Kong’s example has proven yet again that democracy and authoritarianism cannot coexist.

Freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law are the core values deeply shared by the Taiwanese people. Dr. Sun Yat-sen, who was educated in Hawaii and led the revolution in China to overthrow the Ching Dynasty, also carried these values in his theories. If Beijing government respects Dr. Sun as it claims, it should implement his ideal on mainland China, or put it in practice in Hong Kong first.

People are for freedoms. This probably can explain why the number of immigrants from Hong Kong to Taiwan rose drastically in the past couple of years.

Though Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam announced that she would withdraw the amendment of the extradition bill, it’s only one of the five demands put forward by the protesters. Their slogan of “One down, Four to go” seems to signal that pro-democracy protests will not end anytime soon.

Instead of blaming nonexistent foreign forces for any deterioration, Beijing and the HKSAR government should engage in dialogue with the Hongkongers — and avoid errors in judgment that may cause future generations to look back on this episode with sadness and regret.

Hong Kong’s strive to protect and improve its way of living deserves understanding and support from the international community. A joint statement issued by leaders of the G7 countries on Aug. 26 set a good example that reaffirmed the existence and importance of the Sino-British Joint Declaration of 1984 on Hong Kong, and called for violence to be avoided.

Taiwan stands as the only free and democratic ethnic Chinese society in the world. We are hoping that today’s Taiwan can be tomorrow’s Hong Kong.

Michael Y.K. Tseng is director general of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Honolulu.