Hundreds of people have marched in Taiwan's capital to demand the release of 12 Hong Kong anti-government protesters who were arrested by mainland Chinese authorities in August.
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The 12 were allegedly travelling illegally by boat to Taiwan when Chinese authorities detained them.
They are now facing formal charges for illegal border crossings in Shenzhen, a southern Chinese city that borders Hong Kong, a semi-autonomous Chinese territory.
On Friday, Saturday and Sunday, people demonstrated in at least a dozen cities across the world - from New York to Vancouver to Adelaide in Australia - in support of those who were arrested, in a campaign called #save12hkyouths. Prominent Hong Kong activists Joshua Wong and Nathan Law helped launch the campaign on social media.
In the crowd in Taipei on Sunday were activists from several Taiwanese organisations, as well as other residents of the self-ruled democratic island and many Hong Kongers.
Taiwan and China split amid civil war in 1949, and Beijing has cut off ties with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen's government over her refusal to accept its demand that she recognise the island as a part of China to be unified with the mainland eventually under the same "one country, two systems" policy enacted in Hong Kong.
Tsai's election last January to a second, four-year term came after the repression of last year's pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong solidified public opinion in Taiwan against moves towards accepting rule by Beijing.
Many Hong Kong residents have been looking into moving to Taiwan since China pushed through a wide-ranging national security law for the city in June.
Those arrested in August range in age from 16 to 33. Their families are now campaigning to use their own lawyers instead of the court-appointed ones from the Chinese side.
Australian Associated Press
