Wu Yalin (
"I wanted to stay in Taiwan, but the MAC told me that Taiwan has no asylum law. I am at a loss for what to do next," Wu told a press conference in Taipei yesterday.
Wu said he fled Chinese authorities who wanted to arrest him for distributing copies of Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party (
PHOTO: CHEN TSE-MING, TAIPEI TIMES
After Wu arrived in the country as a tourist last Thursday, he met with MAC officials twice to request asylum, but to no avail.
Attorney Tung Wen-hsun (童文薰), who is helping Wu negotiate with the MAC pro bono, lashed out at the government's response.
"I don't see why the MAC is in such a hurry to kick Wu out," she said.
Tung said the absence of an asylum law is an excuse: "Shouldn't the government be more flexible in considering this case, regardless of the law?"
"In November, I was sentenced to three years of re-education through labor for encouraging people to read the pamphlet. A friend of mine with the Public Security Bureau recently told me I should flee. That's why I decided to flee China's brutality," Wu said.
Wu said he was jailed between 1981 and 1990 for criticizing the Chinese Communist Party as undemocratic after a local election in his Sichuan hometown.
Wu entered Taiwan as part of a Chinese tour group from Thailand and contacted the Judicial Reform Foundation the next day to seek political asylum.
MAC Vice Chairman Liu Te-shun (
"As unfair judicial rulings exist in many countries, he should deal with this problem via the legal system in his country. We ask that he leave when his trip finishes [today]," Liu said on Friday.
But Tung dismissed Liu's comments. He said that the MAC refused to give Wu time to prove that he is being persecuted for distributing the Epoch Times pamphlet.
"We know Wu does not qualify for political asylum on the basis of his prior imprisonment, but why can't the MAC wait for Wu to prove he is wanted because of the pamphlet?" Tung asked.
Tung said Wu would apply to extend his visitor's visa today.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by