The Ministry of Foreign Affairs helped communicate between the National Immigration Agency (NIA) and the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) in the case of a Chinese dissident seeking political asylum in the US, an official said yesterday.
Radio Free Asia (RFA) reported on Friday last week that Chinese dissident Wang Rui (王睿) had arrived in the US seeking asylum after spending four years in Taiwan, while agencies from Taiwan and the US worked on his case.
Department of North American Affairs Director-General Remus Chen (陳立國) told a news conference yesterday that the ministry played a supporting role in the matter by helping the NIA work with the AIT on the case.
Photo: Internet screen grab
Neither the NIA nor AIT responded to questions for more information.
Wang arrived in Taiwan in August 2014 on a package tour, but planned to seek asylum.
However, he decided in September 2015 to try to go to the US because Taiwan does not have a refugee law.
He was part of a group of five Chinese, including his girlfriend Yang Luo Yini (楊羅旖旎), who reportedly planned to sail to Guam or the Mariana Islands to seek political asylum.
Su Qianlong (蘇黔龍), Lu Ning (陸寧) and Shi Jian (石堅) reportedly bought a small sailboat in China’s Shandong Province and sailed to a beach in Taoyuan’s Dayuan District (大園), landing on Sept. 10, 2015, to pick up Wang and Yang Luo, who had arrived the preceding June. The couple were staying at an apartment in Taipei.
The five set off for Guam, but reportedly lost their way several times over the course of 30 days and were finally rescued by Taiwanese authorities, according to a report by RFA at the time.
“They’re lucky to be alive, in such big waves and such high winds, you have no idea,” one rescue team member told RFA after the five were detained and their heavily damaged boat impounded.
Officials initially suspected the five of spying, but Taiwanese human rights groups said they were Chinese dissidents fleeing persecution and called on the government to grant them political asylum.
Yang Luo was deported to China by immigration authorities on Sept. 25, 2015, while Taoyuan prosecutors charged the four men with violating the Immigration Act (入出國及移民法) and acting as accomplices to criminal activities.
Wang told RFA that all five had been targeted by Chinese authorities for their human rights and political activism, including being held in detention and placed under surveillance by state security police.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-Wong tomorrow, which it said would possibly make landfall near central Taiwan. As of 2am yesterday, Fung-Wong was about 1,760km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving west-northwest at 26kph. It is forecast to reach Luzon in the northern Philippines by tomorrow, the CWA said. After entering the South China Sea, Typhoon Fung-Wong is likely to turn northward toward Taiwan, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張峻堯) said, adding that it would likely make landfall near central Taiwan. The CWA expects to issue a land
Taiwan’s exports soared to an all-time high of US$61.8 billion last month, surging 49.7 percent from a year earlier, as the global frenzy for artificial intelligence (AI) applications and new consumer electronics powered shipments of high-tech goods, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. It was the first time exports had exceeded the US$60 billion mark, fueled by the global boom in AI development that has significantly boosted Taiwanese companies across the international supply chain, Department of Statistics Director-General Beatrice Tsai (蔡美娜) told a media briefing. “There is a consensus among major AI players that the upcycle is still in its early stage,”
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it is expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong this afternoon and a land warning tomorrow. As of 1pm, the storm was about 1,070km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, and was moving west-northwest at 28 to 32kph, according to CWA data. The storm had a radius of 250km, with maximum sustained winds of 173kph and gusts reaching 209kph, the CWA added. The storm is forecast to pass near Luzon in the Philippines before entering the South China Sea and potentially turning northward toward Taiwan, the CWA said. CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張峻堯) said
PREPARATION: Ferry lines and flights were canceled ahead of only the second storm to hit the nation in November, while many areas canceled classes and work Authorities yesterday evacuated more than 3,000 people ahead of approaching Tropical Storm Fung-wong, which is expected to make landfall between Kaohsiung and Pingtung County this evening. Fung-wong was yesterday morning downgraded from a typhoon to a tropical storm as it approached the nation’s southwest coast, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, as it issued a land alert for the storm. The alert applies to residents in Tainan, Kaohsiung, Pingtung and Taitung counties, and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春). As of press time last night, Taichung, Tainan, Kaohsiung, and Yilan, Miaoli, Changhua, Yunlin, Pingtung and Penghu counties, as well as Chiayi city and county had
RSS