Blind activist Chen to visit Taiwan

Chen and his family plan to arrive in Taipei on June 23 for a 20-day visit, according to the Taipei-based Taiwan Association for Human Rights, which has organized the trip.

“Primarily Chen will meet with people from the Taipei lawyers' association and advocates who have dedicated themselves to the island's judicial reforms,” Yang Sen hong, the head of the rights group, told AFP.

The 41-year-old has been living in New York since May last year after a dramatic escape from house arrest to the U.S. Embassy in Beijing.

The office of President Ma Ying-jeou said it had not formed an official position on the planned visit, but Taiwan's top China policy decision-making body, the Mainland Affairs Council, reacted positively to the proposal.

“We welcome any visit to Taiwan by people from the Chinese mainland as long as they can apply for entry with the authorities according to the regulations. We believe such visit will help facilitate understanding between the two sides,” the organisation said in a statement.

Chen has no plans to meet political figures during the trip, Yang said.

“He is interested in how Taiwan has revised its laws in the process of democratization, and he feels the experience of Taiwan may be used as a key reference to push for China's reform once he is allowed to return to Beijing.”

Chen will be accompanied by Jerome Cohen, a professor at New York University School of Law who is a good friend of the activist, Yang said.

Sentenced to more than four years in prison in 2006 after exposing abuses in China's one-child policy, Chen was subsequently placed under house arrest upon his release in September 2010.

After his escape to the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, which highlighted China's long-criticized human rights record, high-level negotiations between U.S. and Chinese officials hashed out an arrangement allowing Chen to move to the United States.

SHARE CLOSE
Blogger		Google+
Live Journal		Plurk
Stumble Upon

Tweet

	PREVIOUS ARTICLE
	HTC official shrugs off Galaxy S IV challenge

NEXT ARTICLE
Kung tied for 3rd after 1st round of US LPGA event

Write a Comment

Terms

Enter your comments - 3000 characters max

Type in image code

 Receive China Post promos
 Respond to this email

Submit