Wuer Kaixi (吾爾開希), one of the best-known leaders of the May to June 1989 student demonstrations in Beijing, returned to Taipei yesterday after a failed attempt to enter China via Macau to reunite with his parents and turn himself in to authorities.
Wuer Kaixi was denied entry to Macau on Wednesday evening and was sent back to Taiwan yesterday afternoon after spending the night at the Macau immigration office.
Wuer Kaixi told reporters at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport yesterday that he was distraught that he would not be able to see his parents, whom he has not seen during his two decades in exile.
PHOTO: EPA
“Is China being a big and confident country by irrationally kicking me out when I tried to turn myself in?” he asked.
He also questioned President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) stance on China, saying: “Is now the time for him, as president of the Republic of China, to speak favorably of China?”
Wuer Kaixi urged the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) to use its talks with the Chinese Communist Party to ask Beijing to allow him to return home.
“I will never stop trying to go home as long as I live,” he said.
Wuer Kaixi fled to the US after the 1989 military crackdown and has lived in Taiwan for years, working as the manager of an overseas investment company. His wife is Taiwanese and Wuer Kaixi is now a Taiwanese citizen.
Macau authorities yesterday issued a statement saying they had blocked Wuer Kaixi from entering in accordance with the law and to “ensure social tranquility.”
The statement said immigration authorities were duty-bound to block any non-Macau resident who fails to meet requirements to ensure social safety and public order. It said that authorities had arranged for Wuer Kaixi to fly back to Taiwan on Wednesday night but he declined to board the flight.
Meanwhile, Mainland Affairs Council Deputy Minister Liu Te-shun (劉德勳) said the Taipei Economic and Cultural Center in Macau had not met Wuer Kaixi at the airport but had expressed its concern via various channels.
Liu said the center had asked the Macau government to deal with the matter appropriately and would pay the fee for his overnight accommodations at the immigration office.
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