♪ ♪ in contrast to mainland china, taiwan is a democratic republic. since 2014, taiwan has seen an

annual increase in immigrants from hong kong. many immigrants say they are concerned with recent changes in hong kong and feel a deep sense of worry about their future. one couple moved to taiwan in 2013 and opened a hand-made bag store here. a room in this old apartment serves dual roles as their home and work space. they moved to taiwan a year before the surge in immigration from hong kong. when they were trying to decide where to open their shop, michelle and sanford considered hong kong mainland china and taiwan. they decided on taiwan and currently run two shops

sanford has been blog details about their move, such as the considerable paperwork >> to be eligible for investment immigration, a hongkonger must invest more than 190,000 u.s. dollars and start a business in taiwan. then it's comparatively easy to qualify for permanent residency. due to the blog, sanford began receiving emails asking about immigration as well as requests for in-person consultations.

>> the umbrella movement seeking direct elections in hong kong bebegan a year after sanford mod to taiwan. young people started occupying the streets. and hong kong residents faced down the police. michelle and sanford had never seen their home in such a state. as the movement wound down, michelle returned to hong kong for the first time in a while. but she recalls feeling an indescribable discomfort.

>> this is the city of taipei, taiwan's most important city. many immigrants from hong kong are now living in suburbs around the city. although some elderly people in rural areas only speak taiwanese, mandarin is also spoken the city, making it easy for immigrants to live here. taipei also has many shops run by hongkongers.

>> the memorial hall has a

statue of the former leader on display. after a conflict, the party retreated to t taiwan. for decades the nationalist party led by chiang kai-shek governed with a one-party rule. taiwan's first direct election was held in 1996, realizing the democracy that citizens had long hoped for. one hour's drive from taipei is a small restaurant run by a family from hong kong. the family had believed that beijing would maintain the one-country two-systems policy that it had promised to keep for 50 years when hong kong was returned to mainland china in 1997.

>> in 2019, over 2 million

people took part in demonstrations inn hong kong. surpassing the scale of the umbrella movement. they were opposing the revision of the extradition bill which would allow hong kong to return wanted criminals to mainland china. on september 4th, the chief executive of hong kong says she would withdraw the bill. but the demonstrations continued.d. the protesters' grereatest dem is the implementation of direct elections. in july and august, when mass demonstrations were being held in hong kong, support movements were active throughout taiwan. this demonstration was organized by taiwanese human rights groups

as well as students. for the people of taiwan, the events in hong kong hit close to home. they are also faced with the prospect of how to co-exist with mainland china. a variety of social groups hold their own opinions on the subject. the world united for independence was founded in 197070. in t the past they supported taiwan's democritization movement. chairman was blacklisted for being a social activist in his youth. but he continued to figight for taiwan's democratization.

the commerce industry and culture interchange association founded in 1992 works to strengthen ties with china beginning with the economy and seeks eventual unification. chairman has helped several thousand small to medium-sized companies break into the chinese market.

>> taichung is taiwan's second largest city. it's known as being a comfortable place to live. one family from hong kong moved here in 2017. joan chung lives with her husband and their three children. in hong kong, the company had attained careers at a major corporation. their jobs carried pressure and heavy responsibilities. but were very rewarding for them. when they moved to taiwan, joan chose to become a stay-at-home mother while mac looked for a

job with flexible hours. although they dip into their savings to get by, the change has enabled them to spend more time with their children.

>> the two met while working in the i.t. department of the same company. they got to know each other over the dreams they shared for their work. after they got married, mac launched his own company and joan became a manager. although they were successful enough to hire two housekeepers after they had children, the 2014 umbrella movement caused them to re-evaluate their views on life.

>> joan and mac sought a normal life for their children. the cost of attaining it was leaving behind their prior careers.

life as usual continues in taiwan. nene about hong kong regularly makes the headlines. some immigrants travel back to take part in demonstrations. but others can't easily return home even if they wanted to. exchange students in taiwan face just such a dilemma.

>> many young people who had been avidly enjoying their study abroad programs until just a few months ago had never even considered the option of not returning home. until now, the taiwanese government had approved of long-term and permanent residents. but they had refused political refugees from china. but this policy may change.

>> another hongkonger moved to taiwan after being detained by authorities for eight months.

is the former owner of causeway bay books which sold texts criticizing the chihinese government. the sudden disappearance of its staff members was covered by media around the world in 2015. lam was opposed to the extradition bill and came to taiwan when he started feeling unsafe in hong kong.

♪ >> between january and july 2019, the number of hong kong residents who obtained extended visas in taiwan increased by 30%.

the number gaining permanent residency rose 20%. in just six months, 2,594 hongkongers applied for immigration and began preparing for their move. immigration applications from hong kong continue to increase at a steady pace. ♪

defiance and dissent in belarus, despite warnings of a tough crackdown by the president. hello. you are watching al jazeera. also coming up, milititary leads filed toto hold d ectionons aftr p that has drawn international condemnation. an emergenency in china, w with historicic floods fofoing people from their homes and