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  • We're on our way to the airport in Taipei, Taiwan.

  • We got a tip that some protesters, who are fleeing Hong Kong, just landed here.

  • You O.K.? How do you feel? O.K.

  • When we find the group, they're exhausted and afraid to talk.

  • So everyone was arrested last night?

  • Our situation is quite complicated.

  • Many things just happened a few hours ago, and we are escaping.

  • Someone was arrested last night.

  • Police took his phone.

  • That's the way they spread fear through us.

  • They use their phone to pretend he's my friend.

  • And they take our information.

  • But they didn't plan the journey alone.

  • We learned that a secret pipeline, including donors and smugglers, has helped more than 200 protesters escape.

  • We wanted to trace this covert network from one end to the other because right now, hundreds more are facing serious charges and must make a choice.

  • Risk spending years in prison or leave home, possibly forever.

  • Taiwan is a self-ruled and democratic island that Beijing considers to be part of China.

  • Hong Kong also has a degree of sovereignty that Beijing could strip away.

  • So, many in Taiwan share a similar perspective with protesting Hong Kongers.

  • They view China's Communist Party as a threat to their autonomy.

  • For Hong Kongers fleeing here, it's a friendly destination and a stark departure from the unrest back home.

  • Unrest that has roiled Hong Kong for months.

  • Thousands have been arrested.

  • Nearly one-third of them are younger than 18.

  • If convicted, they could spend years in prison.

  • But the tension here goes beyond riots and clashes.

  • Protesters tell us they have the eerie sense that they're being watched and followed.

  • How are you?

  • (Cantonese) I used to go out every day, to every protest.

  • (Cantonese) But after being arrested twice, I've had more concerns.

  • At the start of the summer, Ali was a senior in college, about to begin her career as a school teacher.

  • Then she joined the movement.

  • There was an incident with the police.

  • Can you tell me about that?”

  • (Cantonese) That was when I was arrested.

  • (Cantonese) In the end, when they gave me the prosecution document, they had charged me with rioting.

  • What is the penalty for rioting?

  • (Cantonese) Up to ten years in prison.

  • (Cantonese) I saw that people went to Taiwan in the past.

  • (Cantonese) I've thought about that too.

  • Ali is out on bail, awaiting further legal proceedings, but police confiscated her passport.

  • Without a passport, how would you be able to get to Taiwan?

  • (Cantonese) Flying would be risky.

  • (Cantonese) You could be arrested before you leave the territory.

  • (Cantonese) So there are other ways like boats...

  • If she decides to flee, she would need to travel illegally and pay a hefty price.

  • Some fishermen charge as much as $10,000 USD per person, which is why a big part of the underground network is made up of volunteers who raise money, like this woman.

  • She may never meet the protesters she's helping, but she's an important link in the chain.

  • Some of my friends told me that, you know, some of the youngsters planned to leave Hong Kong for a while.

  • I started to do some fund-raising.

  • She coordinates through face-to-face meetings and encrypted messages.

  • For example, this guy.

  • So this says...

  • My mother says that I must, you know, give back the money whenever I owe somebody money.

  • That's code for: I want to contribute money to the cause.

  • And a lot of them are strangers?

  • Like, they'll just —”

  • Yeah, this is the beauty of the Hong Kong people.

  • In fact, you know, most of the money is coming from my friend's friend's friend.

  • I did not know them.

  • She says she has raised over $60,000, which has helped 11 people flee to Taiwan by plane.

  • Back in Taiwan, we're following the group of protesters who just arrived at the airport.

  • Their first stop is this church.

  • (Chinese) Many Hong Kong protestors know our Church.

  • (Chinese) For these five people, we have already arranged places to stay.

  • Pastor Huang is a key player in this network that's sympathetic to the movement in Hong Kong.

  • (Chinese) This is a whole set of things that will that will be sent to Hong Kong.

  • Many people from Taiwan fled to the U.S. and other parts of the world to escape from government oppression.

  • So we are willing to help them.

  • He's saying that people in Taiwan can relate to the plight of Hong Kongers who feel targeted by China.

  • Like Daniel.

  • Daniel was part of a group that stormed Hong Kong's Legislative Council building on July 1.

  • (Cantonese) My protest behavior in Hong Kong was fairly radical.

  • (Cantonese) We went into the Legislative Council building.

  • He heard police were identifying participants in the surveillance footage, so he fled.

  • (Cantonese) I was in a hopeless state back then.

  • (Cantonese) After I came to Taiwan, the police searched my home [in Hong Kong].

  • (Cantonese) My case is similar. There was a big effort to collect evidence.

  • (Cantonese) Every day I sleep for 2 to 3 hours, then I have nightmares.

  • (Cantonese) The church has arranged for me to see a psychiatrist.

  • (Cantonese) The church is good.

  • (Cantonese) They helped us with places to stay.

  • (Cantonese) So at least that basic need is met.

  • But they're in a legal no man's land.

  • The Taiwanese government is treading carefully, presumably to avoid provoking Beijing.

  • It's allowing protesters to stay on visitors' visas, but has not offered them a path to asylum.

  • (Cantonese) I just feel powerless.

  • Could you ever have imagined that you would be living in the way that you are right now?

  • (Cantonese) You know, you can physically escape, but your heart is always trapped there.

  • (Cantonese) I watch people getting beaten up.

  • (Cantonese) It's really outrageous.

  • (Cantonese) In my sleep at night, I wake up and think why am I not there in Hong Kong?

  • (Cantonese) But I don't know what I can do.

We're on our way to the airport in Taipei, Taiwan.

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