Wang Dan (王丹), an exiled student leader of the 1989 pro-democracy protests in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, who now lives in Taiwan, said he felt a sense of helplessness at having to be reunited with his parents outside of China.
Wang, who revealed on his Facebook page on Friday that his parents were scheduled to visit Taiwan late next month, told the Central News Agency he felt happy at having the chance to see them, but frustrated that his parents, both in their 70s, had to travel to see him.
Within eight hours of the announcement, Wang had received more than 800 responses from Facebook users. One wrote that they felt a bit sad that Wang could only meet his parents outside his homeland and others expressed their sincere hope that Wang would be able to enter and exit China freely in the not-too-distant future.
Several Facebook users asked whether the parents of another Tiananmen protest student leader, Wuer Kaixi, could also visit Taiwan in the future to see their son, who has lived in Taiwan for some time.
Expressing his gratitude for the passionate responses, Wang wrote on Facebook that the sense of humility displayed by Taiwanese was one of their greatest attributes. Wang, who now teaches at National Cheng Kung University in Greater Tainan, said he would take his parents around the southern city to experience its unique culture and urban rhythm.
“Of course, I will also take them to other cities, such as Kaohsiung in the south and Taipei in the north, particularly Taipei’s older districts,” Wang said. “My mother is a history major, so I think she’ll like old Taipei.”
Wang was forced into exile in the US after being jailed for several years in Beijing following the protests. He went on to obtain a doctoral degree from Harvard University. During his stay in the US, his parents had to take a long flight to the US to meet him, Wang recalled.
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