Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng (陳光誠), who fled house arrest in China and later moved to the US, was expected to arrive in Taiwan late last night, where he will give several speeches expected to attract the attention of Beijing.
The 18-day trip is part of Chen’s efforts to enhance freedoms and human rights for his fellow Chinese, his organizer, the Taiwan Association for China Human Rights, said in a statement.
Police said yesterday that extra precautions would be taken to ensure the safety of the blind activist.
Police will help implement the necessary security measures during Chen’s stay in Taipei, after the Taiwan Association for China Human Rights said it received threats that pro-China groups were planning to hold protests and even attack him.
Similar security measures will be in place when Chen visits Greater Taichung and Greater Kaohsiung during his trip, officials added.
Some of these pro-China groups have been seen driving around in campaign trucks to promote their ideas around the location where Chen is scheduled to meet with international reporters in Taipei today, police said.
The Chinese activist is also scheduled to unveil his new book, titled China, the Book of Living and Dying, at a press event in Taipei on Thursday, the organizers said.
Chen, 41, sparked a diplomatic crisis between China and the US last year when he fled house arrest to the US embassy in Beijing.
Since then, he has been a special student at New York University’s US-Asia Law Institute while working on his book.
Chen’s visit presents a challenge to President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), who has built his administration around better relations with China.
The Presidential Office said Ma has not scheduled a meeting with Chen.
Chen will give a news conference, address the legislature, meet Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) and speak at universities, organizers said.
Chen escaped house arrest in his rural town in Shandong Province in April last year. Chinese officials later let him move to the US with his wife and children in an arrangement negotiated with the US.
He had angered local Chinese officials by documenting complaints about forced abortions.
A self-taught lawyer, Chen has criticized China’s human rights records, speaking about it before a US congressional committee.
Chen sparked controversy earlier this month, when he accused New York University of bowing to pressure from the Chinese government and forcing him to leave.
The university denied that, and said it had offered him a one-year fellowship to help him escape China, which was concluding at the end of the academic year as planned.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source