Chinese dissident stranded in Taiwan airport looks to West for asylum
Chen Siming, prominent government critic, says ‘friendliness and kindness’ awaited him after dramatic escape through Laos
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Chen Siming, prominent government critic, says ‘friendliness and kindness’ awaited him after dramatic escape through Laos
Taipei (AFP) Sept 22, 2023 - A Chinese activist pleaded for authorities not to deport him after he landed at Taiwan's international airport on Friday, and requested asylum from the United States and Canada.
Chen's life in China was marred by perpetual surveillance by state security police in his home province of Hunan, leaving him feeling unsafe.
Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council says it is 'reviewing with relevant authorities' Chen Siming's stay at Taoyuan airport
Chen Siming, 60, commemorates the Tiananmen massacre in Hunan every year and has already been arrested for it. Threatened with internment in a psychiatric hospital in July, he escaped clandestinely to Laos and then to Thailand, countries that are no longer safe for Chinese dissidents. He applied for protection during a stopover in Taipei with a plane ticket to Guangzhou. Taiwan does not have a refugee law, more likely to accept the request from a third country.