A Chinese activist has appealed to authorities not to deport him after arriving at Taiwan's international airport on Friday. He has also requested asylum from the United States and Canada.
Self-governed Taiwan imposes restrictions on travellers from China, which asserts sovereignty over the island.
Chen Siming, the activist, made his plea on X, formerly known as Twitter. He explained that he fled China three months ago due to the increasingly brutal methods used by Chinese authorities to maintain stability.
"To escape China's political persecution, I have reached Taiwan," he stated in a video posted at 7:15 am (2315 GMT on Thursday). He confirmed that he was currently in the transit area of Taoyuan International Airport.
Chen expressed his desire to seek asylum in the United States or Canada and asked his friends to appeal to the Taiwanese government not to send him back to China.
He also alleged that Chinese authorities had detained him in the past, confiscated his phone, and subjected him to a psychiatric evaluation.
"I could no longer endure it, so I fled China on July 22," Chen wrote in his post. "On September 22, I finally arrived in Taiwan, the island of freedom."
It's important to note that AFP has not independently verified Chen's account.
Chen, who was based in China's southern province of Hunan, had openly supported Hong Kong protesters in 2019 when the city was rocked by massive demonstrations demanding greater autonomy from Beijing.
According to Radio Free Asia, Chen travelled to Laos after leaving China in July and then crossed into Thailand. However, due to concerns about being sent to an immigration prison in Thailand, a country with a history of deporting dissidents, he purchased a return ticket to China that transited through Taiwan, as per RFA's report.
Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council, responsible for managing relations with Beijing, stated that it was "in contact and reviewing with relevant authorities" concerning Chen's presence at the airport.
In 2019, two Chinese dissidents spent over four months in limbo at Taiwan's airport after fleeing China. They were denied entry by immigration officials due to a lack of valid visas. The Taiwanese government, being cautious about deporting them, also hesitated to grant them entry.
After 125 days, they were granted temporary stay outside the airport and eventually left for Canada, where they were both granted asylum status.
