Deposed Chinese Communist Party leader Zhao Ziyang (趙紫陽), who died last year after spending 15 years under house arrest, wrote to party leaders in 1997 asking for his freedom, a report said yesterday.
Radio Free Asia, a US-funded broadcaster, said it obtained a previously unpublished letter dated Oct. 13, 1997, in which Zhao -- purged from his position for sympathizing with pro-democracy protesters in 1989 -- asked party leaders to lift his house arrest.
"I hope this letter of mine could generate concern from the general secretary and party comrades. I hope these blatant and illegal acts that are being perpetrated under the noses of the central leadership will be stopped," a copy of the letter read.
"I hope my house arrest will be lifted soon to restore my personal freedom, so that I no longer have to live out the remainder of my years in loneliness and confinement," it said.
The letter was to be published in Hong Kong on Saturday in a book that also features essays and poems commemorating Zhao, Radio Free Asia said.
As premier and then party leader in the 1980s, Zhao spearheaded economic reforms under China's then-supreme leader Deng Xiaoping (
He was ousted after sympathizing with student protesters during the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests, in which hundreds, if not thousands, died in a military crackdown.
"I don't know what laws I have violated," the letter said.
The house arrest had "caused great harm to the health of an old man nearly 80 years old like me," Zhao wrote.
Since 1989, Zhao's name has been rarely acknowledged by the government, which is still wary of stirring up sympathy for his liberal views.
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
PLUGGING HOLES: The amendments would bring the legislation in line with systems found in other countries such as Japan and the US, Legislator Chen Kuan-ting said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) has proposed amending national security legislation amid a spate of espionage cases. Potential gaps in security vetting procedures for personnel with access to sensitive information prompted him to propose the amendments, which would introduce changes to Article 14 of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), Chen said yesterday. The proposal, which aims to enhance interagency vetting procedures and reduce the risk of classified information leaks, would establish a comprehensive security clearance system in Taiwan, he said. The amendment would require character and loyalty checks for civil servants and intelligence personnel prior to
RSS