One of China’s most wanted fugitives says he hasn’t given up trying to return to China and won’t relent in his efforts to pressure Beijing to democratize.
Wuer Kaixi, a prominent student leader during the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests, told the Taiwan Foreign Correspondents Club yesterday that despite two failed attempts, he would continue to try to re-enter China to visit his parents in Urumqi, Xinjiang, whom he hasn’t seen for 21 years.
Since Wuer Kaixi became a wanted “criminal” after the Tiananmen crackdown, his parents have been barred from leaving the country.
The dissident, who lives in exile in Taiwan, was turned back after attempting to enter Macau last year and was barred from boarding a flight from Tokyo to Beijing last month.
He was arrested by Japanese police and detained for two days after attempting to jump over a security gate to get into the Chinese embassy in Tokyo.
“I am now able to say I am a political dissident with jail experience — two days,” the 42-year-old said.
Wuer Kaixi said his attempts to return to China were in order to continue the dialogue with Chinese authorities that he and other dissident students started in the 1980s.
While he expects to be arrested if he returns, he said this was “not an admission of wrongdoing 21 years ago.”
“I will keep trying. There will be elevated actions,” he said, without providing details.
“How can I give up hope of seeing my parents, even if this has to be a prison visit,” he said, accusing Chinese authorities of meting out punishment not only to dissidents, but also their families.
“My parents’ health has suffered,” he said of the consequences of his exile.
Asked about Taipei’s blacklisting of World Uyghur Congress president Rebiya Kadeer, Wuer Kaixi said it was a “stupid mistake,” adding that the decision was made not on grounds of national security, but rather in the “national interest,” which meant not angering Beijing.
On whether the same could happen to him one day, he said it was unlikely, as he is now a naturalized Taiwanese citizen and President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) “has integrity” and abides by the law.
“Opportunists” in Ma’s party, however, could exploit some of the president’s foibles to “drag him down,” he said.
“Ma’s a pleaser — he likes to please everybody,” Wuer Kaixi said.
“If you know how to push [Ma’s] right button,” his China policies could turn bad for Taiwan, he said.
The disruption of 941 flights in and out of Taiwan due to China’s large-scale military exercises was no accident, but rather the result of a “quasi-blockade” used to simulate creating the air and sea routes needed for an amphibious landing, a military expert said. The disruptions occurred on Tuesday and lasted about 10 hours as China conducted live-fire drills in the Taiwan Strait. The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said the exercises affected 857 international flights and 84 domestic flights, affecting more than 100,000 travelers. Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the government-sponsored Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said the air
Taiwan is to commence mass production of the Tien Kung (天弓, “Sky Bow”) III, IV and V missiles by the second quarter of this year if the legislature approves the government’s NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.78 billion) special defense budget, an official said yesterday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said that the advanced systems are expected to provide crucial capabilities against ballistic and cruise missiles for the proposed “T-Dome,” an advanced, multi-layered air defense network. The Tien Kung III is an air defense missile with a maximum interception altitude of 35km. The Tien Kung IV and V
Trips for more than 100,000 international and domestic air travelers could be disrupted as China launches a military exercise around Taiwan today, Taiwan’s Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said yesterday. The exercise could affect nearly 900 flights scheduled to enter the Taipei Flight Information Region (FIR) during the exercise window, it added. A notice issued by the Chinese Civil Aviation Administration showed there would be seven temporary zones around the Taiwan Strait which would be used for live-fire exercises, lasting from 8am to 6pm today. All aircraft are prohibited from entering during exercise, it says. Taipei FIR has 14 international air routes and
Taiwan lacks effective and cost-efficient armaments to intercept rockets, making the planned “T-Dome” interception system necessary, two experts said on Tuesday. The concerns were raised after China’s military fired two waves of rockets during live-fire drills around Taiwan on Tuesday, part of two-day exercises code-named “Justice Mission 2025.” The first wave involved 17 rockets launched at 9am from Pingtan in China’s Fujian Province, according to Lieutenant General Hsieh Jih-sheng (謝日升) of the Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Intelligence at the Ministry of National Defense. Those rockets landed 70 nautical miles (129.6km) northeast of Keelung without flying over Taiwan,
RSS